Warehouse rampage victims testify
Worker at west-end company described by foreman as ‘one of the best employees’
Survivors of a mass stabbing at a west-end Edmonton warehouse testified Wednesday about the chaos that ensued when a worker allegedly attacked six of his colleagues.
Jayme Pasieka, 32, is on trial for two counts of first-degree murder and four counts of attempted murder and aggravated assault.
He is accused of stabbing six people — including Fitzroy Harris, 50, and Thierno Bah, 41, who both died — at the 16104 121A Ave. Loblaw warehouse where he was an employee on Feb. 28, 2014.
Supervisor Michael Benti trained Pasieka, and told court he was “one of the best employees.”
On the day of the attack, Benti went to investigate some noises in the warehouse when he saw Bah lying on the ground.
“I thought he was dressed in a red shirt ... It was blood,” Benti testified.
While two other employees tried to keep Bah awake, Benti called 911.
While he was on the phone he saw Harris running toward them, with Pasieka coming up behind.
Audio of that call was played in court. In it, Benti can be heard screaming “What are you doing, Jayme?” while another voice, which Benti identified as Pasieka, yells and curses.
Benti testified that while he was making the call, Pasieka slashed his face with a knife. He dropped the phone and then he and the other workers ran away.
He said he thinks it was at that point that Pasieka went back for Harris.
As the audio played in court, several jurors also wiped away tears.
One of the other employees who survived stab wounds, Mahmoud Ayesh, told court he remembers it as having been a normal shift right up until the attack.
“All of (a) sudden, he was right up in front of my face,” Ayesh testified.
At first, he thought his attacker was punching him in the chest. It wasn’t until he felt the blood running down his body that he realized he’d been stabbed.
“He was trying to kill me,” Ayesh said.
Ayesh testified that he was looking into his attacker’s eyes as the man kept repeating “I don’t like you” over and over.
“People were scared of him and he was enjoying it,” Ayesh told jurors.
Abdelfetteh Aouachri, who was stabbed in the forearm when he ran to help Bah, testified that Pasieka never talked to anyone
All of (a) sudden, he was right up in front of my face ... People were scared of him and he was enjoying it.
at work and that he’d personally avoided Pasieka because he “didn’t like his walk.”
Axamed Mektar, who was stabbed in the chest and thumb, told court he remembers Pasieka saying he “hated” him during the attack.
Mektar and the other witnesses all identified Pasieka in court as the man who attacked them. Each one testified Pasieka had been wearing dark clothing on the day of the attack. Benti also noted that it was common for Pasieka to dress in a “military” style, but the day of the stabbings was the first time he’d seen Pasieka in a combat-style vest or carrying any knives.
Pasieka, sitting in the prisoner’s box, did not react to any of the testimony from witnesses.
The trial began Tuesday and is scheduled for two weeks.