Police are confident people in the community have information on the “horrific attack” on Esplanade Avenue April 25, according to a statement released today.
“At this time Investigators are confident there are people in our community that have information about this horrific attack” said Oak Bay Police Deputy Chief Ray Bernoties. “We’re asking for those people to come forward and talk with the investigators.”
On April 25 shortly before 7:30 a.m. the Oak Bay Police responded to a 911 call originating from a home in the 2500 block of Esplanade, near Willows Beach in Oak Bay. Police discovered a 45 year old woman, a resident of the home, suffered significant injuries to her upper body. The woman was transported by ambulance to the hospital and underwent surgery for her injuries.
Police say, the woman was in her home and heard noises coming from the kitchen area. She went to investigate the noises and discovered an unknown male in her kitchen. The woman confronted the man and an ensuing altercation resulted in the woman being struck several times with an edged weapon, which may have been a machete.
There is nothing to suggest she was the target of the attack.
By way of the service agreement the Saanich Police Department Detective Division take lead role on this investigation.
“We have access to the expertise of forensics unit and other specialized units that Saanich provides. I think that is a positive part of the agreement that we can rely on the expertise on a larger department,” said Mayor Nils Jensen. “I’ve not heard any concerns expressed by the community. This is an extremely rare occurrence in Oak Bay. When something like that does happen it’s reassuring to know we can rely on Saanich and Victoria police to work together and make a concerted effort to solve the crime.”
Kris Nichols, president of Community Association of Oak Bay, also says he’s hearing less concern voiced in the community.
“This was a terrible and by all accounts isolated event which certainly gave the community pause. It is an incident that no one wants to hear about in any community especially your own. However, I do believe that overall the District of Oak Bay’s Community Satisfaction Survey Report released last October still stands true for many in our community. As it stated, one of the ‘key reasons for satisfaction with life in the District of Oak Bay include feeling safe with a low crime rate.’
“While, like most communities, we do have some crime, we are fortunate that these incidents are rare and as such make us think about our safety when they do occur. We have a terrific and responsive police force in Oak Bay and connected neighbourhoods and residents and as such I strongly believe that the confidence levels of Oak Bay residents regarding their safety remains high.”
Police say a number of resources are dedicated to solving this crime and the investigation is still very much active.
“We sincerely respect the public’s desire for information and are continually assessing as the investigation progresses to ensure we share as much as possible without adversely impacting our investigation,” said Bernoties.
Anyone with information on this crime is asked to call the Police Information Line at 250-475-4356 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
