WOMAN CHARGED AFTER STABBING
Neighbours left shaken by violence
THE tranquillity of a family neighbourhood enjoying the school holiday break was shattered yesterday when a man was stabbed during an altercation in West End.
The 42- year- old man was being treated in Townsville Hospital last night after suffering a significant wound to his abdomen.
The man was carried out of an apartment building on Church St on a stretcher, with bandages wrapped around his torso.
He was then loaded into a waiting ambulance and rushed to hospital in a stable condition about 3pm.
A woman in her 50s was taken into custody and was last night charged with one count of grievous bodily harm. She will face Townsville Magistrates Court today.
It is believed the couple knew each other.
Four police cars and two ambulance vehicles attended the scene, with several police officers securing the premises.
The injuries were reported as significant, however it is understood it was initially believed they were non life- threatening.
Police last night would not reveal what the man had been stabbed with, but they did report locating an “item of interest”.
Criminal Investigation Branch and forensics detectives attended the scene and interviewed other oc- cupants of the apartment complex as part of their inquiries in trying to piece together what had occurred.
The violence was in stark con- trast to the surrounding scene a short while after the incident, with a man kicking a football with a boy in a park directly across the road from the location of the stabbing.
The man said he had not witnessed the attack and only arrived at the park after the ambulance had left the scene with the victim.
“I thought West End was over all that sort of stuff,” the man said.
A couple walking their dogs with their two young children past the apartment complex were shocked to hear of the incident occurring in their neighbourhood.
Another couple returning to their nearby apartment were also alarmed and said they hadn’t heard of any other similar incidents happening within the area.
A police spokesman last night said the victim remained in a serious but stable condition.
He said detectives would have a better picture of the incident’s circumstances when the full extent of the injuries was known.
I thought West End was over all that sort of stuff