BURNSIDE ROAD STABBING WAS LIKELY DRUG-RELATED

Victim knifed in abdomen, suspect known to police.

A 45-year-old man is in police custody and his 38-year-old victim is
recovering from knife wounds in hospital following a stabbing incident
on Burnside Road Monday afternoon.

"We certainly believe this was not a random attack and we suspect it
was drug-related," said Saanich police spokesman Const. John Price.

Police responded to a reported fight between two men in the 100-block
of Burnside Road West shortly before 5 p.m. Monday.

Officers apprehended a 45-year-old suspect in the 7-Eleven at Harriet
and Burnside roads.

Ten minutes after the initial call, the provincial ambulance service
responded to a report of a stabbing victim at a house in the
3200-block of Harriet Road.

When there was no answer at the Harriet Road residence, police and
paramedics forced open the door in an effort to find the victim.

They later discovered he had been dropped off at Victoria General
Hospital with multiple, but non-life threatening stab wounds to the
abdomen.

The victim underwent exploratory surgery following the incident, but
doctors found no internal injuries and expect a full recovery, Price
said.

Saanich police cordoned off the Harriet Road residence and conducted a
thorough search Tuesday.

Price said both the suspect and the victim were known to each other
and to police.

The investigation is continuing.