RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Terry Barrett said they have not laid charges yet and are still looking for two men believed to be in their 20s who could be related to the case.
“We do have our forensic staff there, processing and analyzing the scene,” Barrett said. “It is a rural area, and wouldn’t necessarily expect an incident like this, but they do happen, you never know where these will take place.”
The RCMP reported that a preliminary investigation determined that two men forcibly entered the home of a 53-year-old Mount Uniacke man, who was alone at the time. An altercation occurred, which resulted in the man being stabbed and taken to hospital by EHS with undetermined injuries.
There is no update on the condition of the victim.
Myrtle Hiltz lives close by and said she had no idea what was going on when she and her husband returned home from the camp later that day.
“Whoever did this was parked right over there behind my husband’s truck,” Myrtle said, motioning to the vehicle. “We got home at about 5:15 p.m. and they told us they needed another 15 minutes before the truck would be released.”
The truck in question, owned by Carl Hiltz, was allegedly used as cover for the assailants before the attack.
“I’m glad we weren’t here when it happened,” she said.
“This is a very quiet community usually and especially right around here,” she added. “I don’t know who it was or what it was about, and the less I know the better I feel.”
Myrtle has lived in Mount Uniacke for 75 years.
“I’ve never seen anything like this, so close, and I’ve lived here in this house for 56 years,” she added.
Her husband Carl, who owns the truck allegedly used as cover, said he knew the victim and that he never gave him any trouble.
“It seems quite serious, and (the police) are still there,” Carl said. “I think there’s a lot more to it.”
Carl said his daughter was waiting in his driveway that morning, a few minutes before the stabbing took place, but had left before anything happened.
“It might have been pretty serious, you don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said.
Carl said he suspects the victim was targeted specifically by the assailants, because if they were just looking to break in, his house would have made a good target as no one was home and the lights were off.
“A lot of people are concerned around the mountain,” Carl said. “I guess small places are... just as bad as the big city now.”
The Uniacke District School was placed in hold and secure mode as a precaution shortly after the stabbing was reported. Feb. 19, things were back to normal.
An employee at Eddy’s Variety, a convenience store across the street from the incident, said many assumed they were closed during the investigation and they lost some business because of it. The employee did not want to be named.
“People were happy that the school was shut down, it was the right thing to do,” the staff member said.
The employee added that victim was well known to the store, regularly coming in, sometimes multiple times a day.
