Teen girls rescue stabbing victim at Burnaby coffee shop, 2 suspects arrested

Two teenage girls are being praised for their bravery and quick thinking after they came to the rescue of a stabbing victim in Burnaby.

The violence broke out at a Waves Coffee House near Edmonds Street and Kingsway just before 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Lindsay Hofmann was ordering coffee inside when she heard the commotion.

The 17-year-old says she heard shouting and fighting between a couple and a badly injured man.

“I was able to kind of grab the person beating him up. I grabbed him off and he showed no aggression towards me whatsoever, and the man and woman immediately got up and left,” said Hofmann.

She, along with her friend and a coffee shop employee tried to help the man.

“We went to the back and grabbed a bunch of paper towels and cloth to cover his stab wounds,” said her friend Morgan Albrighton.

The pair say they were scared, but knew they had to help because none of the other customers did.

“It was a scary instance for me because I'm only like a little girl and there was a huge group of men and I thought they'd intervene. I looked back before I went to help him and I was like 'Ok, I guess I'm pulling off this 6'5" dude myself,” Hofmann told CTV News.

They say they waited more than 20 minutes for help to arrive.

“When we saw the ambulance finally come, we were super relieved because no one in there, I was asking for first aid, obviously he needed it. We were putting pressure on it but that could only do so much,” said Hofmann.

The pair say they were all covered in the victim’s blood.

“He seemed fine with the head, like he was holding it and he seemed okay. But then he was like pointing to his side and we found he had stab wounds one or two,” described Hofmann.

“He started throwing up from probably the head injury,” added Albrighton.

Police say the 32-year-old victim was brought to the hospital by Emergency Health Services with non-life-threatening injuries.

Police had initially said one person was arrested in connection with the stabbing, but provided an update Wednesday morning that two suspects were taken into custody.

They are a 30-year-old man from Coquitlam and a 29-year-old woman from Burnaby, both were already known to police.

RCMP say they were found by its gang enforcement team who were patrolling the area about five blocks away.

Police are recommending charges of assault with a weapon.

“It appears that the victim and suspect are known to each other,” wrote Cpl. Mike Kalanj of Burnaby RCMP in an email to CTV News.

Mounties say the fight stemmed from a personal issue and don't believe there is any ongoing risk to the public.

RCMP are commending the teens who stepped in for their courage.

“It’s extraordinary. I think most people in the public run away. We all say that the police run towards these kinds of situations," Kalanj told CTV News.

"Sounds like these two young ladies stepped up. Our victim could have been in a worse situation than was he was without their help.".

Even so, he is cautioning members of the public to ensure their own safety before they act.