Jennifer Laferriere thought she was going to die when she heard an worker inform the 911 operator that the person inflicting chaos within the veterinary clinic had a knife.
Laferriere arrived on the Animal Hospital of Manitoba at 995 Main St. at about 9:40 a.m. Thursday together with her 13-year-old cat Lola and 5 kittens from her feline rescue, however ended up hiding behind a locked examination room’s door as a distressed and armed man burst into the business and tried to assault workers.
She heard an worker making an attempt to speak with “somebody in the building who shouldn’t be” whereas she was in an examination room. Her daughter was ready exterior within the parking zone.
“The next thing I know, the man started smashing things — something was going on out there — and one of the people working said they were going to call the police… she yelled she couldn’t stay on the phone because he was coming after her,” stated Laferriere, who owns and operates Miss J.La’s Fur Babies Cat Cafe and Adoption Centre.
“I could only imagine what was happening on the other side of the door.”
The 4 folks working within the workplace managed to run to security, however at the very least one in every of them was injured whereas making an attempt to flee, Laferriere stated.
Police arrived shortly, she stated, however the man had locked the clinic’s glass entry door. Officers had been yelling on the man to drop the knife earlier than they smashed within the door and moved in to arrest him, utilizing a Taser electroshock weapon to subdue him.
“I could hear everything,” she stated. “The man was not listening to what they told him, and they gave him a lot of warnings to drop the knife, and he wasn’t doing it… I heard the glass, I heard the Taser going… it was a lot going on out there.”
The incident lasted about 10 minutes however felt for much longer, she stated.
“(Police) got me out, me and the cats. The vet that was in there, she was grabbing carriers,” Laferriere stated.
“It was very terrifying — I really thought I was going to die there, because all I knew was there was a guy with a knife on the other side of the door.”
Winnipeg law enforcement officials had been despatched to the business at about 9:50 a.m., the place they had been advised a distressed man who had tried to stab an worker was nonetheless inside, police stated Friday.
Four girls within the building, together with Laferriere, managed to lock themselves in separate rooms throughout the business, police stated.
The man started to harm himself with the knife whereas officers had been making an attempt to get inside. Once they made their method inside, the intruder sprayed a hearth extinguisher at them.
After activating the Taser, the officers used pepper spray earlier than placing him in handcuffs, police stated. He was taken to hospital for his knife wounds.
A 27-year-old man from Brandon has been charged with three counts of assault with a weapon and one rely every of assaulting a peace officer, resisting a peace officer and mischief beneath $5,000.
No one from the clinic might be reached for remark Friday.
Erik Pindera
Reporter
Erik Pindera stories for the town desk, with a selected deal with crime and justice.
Read full biography
