A Winnipeg priest narrowly escaped an attempted stabbing during Sunday mass, with the entire incident captured on camera.
A 50-year-old man has been charged after he allegedly tried to stab a pastor during a service at a Winnipeg church. Pawel Olownia was charged after he allegedly approached the altar with a knife during a service Sunday night and went after a 38-year-old pastor. Video provided by Holy Ghost Parish shows the suspect, who was wearing a yellow jacket, approaching the pastor with what appears to be a knife in his hand. The video then shows the pastor managing to escape the man’s attempted assault. The suspect is then seen stabbing the blade into the altar.
An off-duty RCMP officer, alongside several parishioners, approached the man and detained him. Zoledowsky can be heard in the video talking to the suspect saying, “Hey, police, stop. You’re under arrest.”
The pastor involved in the incident declined to comment. Police said the pastor has no memory of ever seeing the suspect before. Const. Stephen Spencer with the Winnipeg Police Service says incidents like these in churches are rare. Olownia is facing several charges, including assault with a weapon and possession of a weapon. He was detained in custody. Police are still investigating a possible motive that led to the incident. Zoledowksy has been an RCMP officer for 24 years, and was happy to see no one was seriously hurt.