A man accused of stabbing a woman and an off-duty Delta police officer outside of a private elementary school in North Delta last month now faces additional charges including attempted murder stemming from the incident.
Manoj George, 49, of Delta had previously been charged with two counts each of aggravated assault and assault with a weapon in relation to the incident outside Immaculate Conception School just after 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 20.
DPD Acting-Sgt. John Jasmins intervened after witnessing a man allegedly assaulting a woman outside of the school. Jasmins, who was off-duty and unarmed at the time, was stabbed several times in the abdomen.
Police began to receive 911 calls at 3:03 p.m., and by 3:04 p.m. the first on-duty police officer arrived on scene. A suspect was identified and taken into custody by 3:06 p.m.
Jasmins and the woman were rushed to hospital in critical condition.
READ MORE: VIDEO: Delta man charged in stabbing of woman, off-duty cop outside North Delta elementary school
“Investigators believe that if John hadn’t acted so quickly, the woman involved in this incident could have lost her life. He is a hero,” Delta Police Chief Neil Dubord said in press release announcing the first set of charges against George.
Jasmins underwent surgery on Feb. 20 and has since been released from hospital. He is expected to make a full recovery.
The woman, a 41-year-old Delta resident, remains in hospital in stable condition. In an update provided Feb. 27, police said her condition is slowly improving but she has a long recovery ahead of her.
No children were harmed.
At a press conference Feb. 21, DPD Chief Neil Dubord confirmed that George and the woman were in a relationship and have one child who attends the school. He said police “were aware the marriage was dissolving … but certainly we had never seen any violence.”
George was not known to police, had no criminal record and there was no restraining order in place between him and his wife.
On March 6, Delta police announced Crown Counsel has approved six additional charges stemming from the investigation in the circumstances that led to the events of Feb. 20. George has been charged with attempt to commit murder, sexual assault with a weapon, extortion, unlawful confinement, choking to overcome resistance and uttering threats.
Police say the new charges are in relation to the woman who was injured in the Feb. 20 stabbing and there are no new additional victims in relation to this investigation.
“These are serious charges, regarding circumstances that only came to light once the police investigation was underway,” said lead investigator Insp. Guy Leeson of the DPD investigation bureau in a press release.
George has been in custody since Feb. 20 and will so pending his next court appearance on March 13. He is now facing a total of 10 charges in relation to the stabbing outside Immaculate Conception School.
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