Woman survives vicious stabbing by stranger near Central Park

A 19-year-old woman is recovering in hospital after she was stabbed several times by a stranger while sitting outside near Central Park in downtown Winnipeg on Wednesday afternoon, police say.

A man is in custody and faces several charges.

The woman was sitting outside near Edmonton Street and Qu'Appelle Avenue when a man walked up to her and started argue, Const. Tammy Skrabek said at a news conference Thursday.

"This was a completely random person," Skrabek said.

The man pulled a knife out of his waistband and stabbed her several times, she said.

Motive unknown

"We don't know the motivation for the attack other than he was just clearly irritated,"Skrabektold reporters.

The man grabbed a backpack from a 39-year-old man who was also sitting in the area and took off.

Police arrived at the scene at about 3:20 p.m. and the woman was taken to hospital in critical condition. Her condition has been upgraded to stable but she remainsin hospital.

Police searched the area, found a suspect,chased him down and made the arrest.

A Winnipeg man, 26,is charged with robbery, possessing a weapon, carrying a concealed weapon and uttering threats, police said Thursday. He has had previous contact with police, Skrabek said.