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㽶ƵֱWe were face to face㽶Ƶֱ: Good Samaritan recalls tackling Nelson stabbing suspect

Two Nelson men describe their part in last week㽶Ƶֱs stabbing
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Stephen Fowler of Nelson. (Bill Metcalfe/Nelson Star)

For this article, Black Press Media received permission from the stabbing victim㽶Ƶֱs family to name her, but using her only first name: Ramita.

Stephen Fowler was waiting for the light to change.

The Nelson businessman had just left his store, Booksmyth Used Books, and was standing at the intersection of Baker and Stanley Streets at about 5:20 p.m. on Sept. 19.

There were a few people waiting on the other side of Stanley, by the Full Circle Cafe, facing him, including Ramita, a woman he did not know.

Just as the light turned and the pedestrians moved into the street, Fowler saw a woman move quickly up behind Ramita and the pedestrians on the other side of the intersection, waving her arms.

㽶ƵֱAt first I didn㽶Ƶֱt know she had a knife in her hand,㽶Ƶֱ Fowler told the Nelson Star.

㽶ƵֱShe brought the knife down from behind on Ramita㽶Ƶֱs right shoulder, and Ramita turned a bit, and got stabbed again in the other shoulder from the front. Me and another guy yelled and ran at them, and Ramita kind of got away and [the woman] backed off a bit.㽶Ƶֱ

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Now the attacker was back on the sidewalk, and Ramita was still on the pavement.

㽶Ƶֱ[The woman with the knife] had her back to me and I grabbed her from behind and she got out of that and went behind me and went at Ramita again. Ramita was down, up, down again.㽶Ƶֱ

Fowler said he heard the assailant saying something about being trolled, and how they weren㽶Ƶֱt going to be able to troll her again.

Police have reported that she had been in Nelson only three days, and that she and Ramita did not know each other.

Fowler and others managed to separate Ramita and her attacker again.

㽶ƵֱAt one point there were three of us, a guy on my right and another one on my left and we all tried to pin her in, against the building where the patio of Full Circle is.

㽶ƵֱShe saw this happening and she took a lunge at the guy on my left and he backed off and she lunged at me, and in that moment I thought, she could really hurt me.

㽶ƵֱWe were face to face. She had a hunting knife. She lunged at me and I got out of the way and she got past me and went to stab Ramita again, and I grabbed her from behind. Then another guy, a guy with a motorcycle helmet on, grabbed both of us from behind. He had me and I had her, and he wrapped his arms around both of us.

㽶ƵֱShe was very strong, very tiny, wiry. I don㽶Ƶֱt know if I could have held her if the motorcycle helmet guy had not been there.

㽶ƵֱWe tried to pin her arms, she was still struggling, and that is when she stabbed me, on the side of the leg. I said to no one in particular, 㽶ƵֱI㽶Ƶֱve been stabbed.㽶Ƶֱ I said it matter of factly because it didn㽶Ƶֱt hurt, but it was suddenly numb.㽶Ƶֱ

During all this, Ramita was on the ground in the intersection, 㽶Ƶֱsurrounded by people who were talking to her, helping her, keeping her conscious.㽶Ƶֱ

But Fowler says he was only vaguely conscious of that. He and the others were trying to get the knife away from the woman, and the man with the motorcycle helmet, Warren Rich of Nelson, managed to do that. He had entered the fray because he said it looked like the others needed help.

㽶ƵֱThere was a need, so I just went for it,㽶Ƶֱ he said. 㽶ƵֱI grabbed her arm with the knife in it and 㽶Ƶֱ I grabbed the blade and I twisted it out of her hand while I held her wrist.㽶Ƶֱ

As soon as the knife was gone, Fowler said she stopped fighting, although Rich said 㽶Ƶֱshe was snarling and growling like she was possessed by a demon. She was a wildcat.㽶Ƶֱ

Rich said he grabbed her by both hands and threw her down on the ground and sat on her, with Fowler lying partially beneath them both, until the police came.

First responders arrived and the police handcuffed and arrested the woman with the knife.

Ramita is reported to be in stable condition in a Kelowna hospital. Her family has started a . Fowler is now fully mobile, with three stitches in his leg. Rich was uninjured despite having grabbed the knife by the blade. The attacker, according to police, also stabbed herself during the incident.

Fowler estimates that less than 10 minutes elapsed between the first stab wound and the arrival of the police.

㽶ƵֱA job that needed doing㽶Ƶֱ

Even though the actions of Fowler and Rich and others probably saved Ramita㽶Ƶֱs life, Fowler and Rich are modest about their roles, saying that there were many people helping.

㽶ƵֱThere was a job that needed doing and I was in a position to do it,㽶Ƶֱ Fowler said, 㽶Ƶֱnot because I am particularly brave or any of that. I just stopped thinking, and the job was to keep her from doing any more harm, and I did that.㽶Ƶֱ

He said the other people in the crosswalk did what needed to be done too, without hesitation. For some, that meant staying out of the way.

㽶ƵֱEverybody was doing something to help, and that is a remarkable thing.㽶Ƶֱ

He said he saw one of the Baker Street homeless people directing traffic.

㽶ƵֱThis is their community too. They don㽶Ƶֱt want to see stuff like this happening. He was there, saw a job that needed doing, and he did it.㽶Ƶֱ

He said he㽶Ƶֱs heard some negative commentary about how this incident shows a deterioration of life here, wondering what is happening in Nelson.

But Fowler says this could have happened anywhere in the world.

㽶ƵֱIt was this town that responded in this way. So that is what is happening in Nelson.㽶Ƶֱ

Fowler also says some people have criticized his actions, 㽶Ƶֱsaying I should have hit her, or, 㽶ƵֱI would have kicked the shit out of her,㽶Ƶֱ that sort of comment.㽶Ƶֱ

His response: 㽶ƵֱBut you weren㽶Ƶֱt there, so you don㽶Ƶֱt know what you would have done. And you are kind of telling me I did the wrong thing. But I didn㽶Ƶֱt. You don㽶Ƶֱt stop violence with violence. You just get more violence. I didn㽶Ƶֱt want to hurt her. She is already broken. Hurting her won㽶Ƶֱt do anything but hurt her more.㽶Ƶֱ

A couple of days before the stabbing, the attacker had come into Fowler㽶Ƶֱs shop, looking for a book. She told him she wanted something light-weight, because she was travelling.

㽶ƵֱShe was a quirky woman,㽶Ƶֱ Fowler said. 㽶ƵֱWe had a chat. I kind of liked her. And then the next time I see her she㽶Ƶֱs stabbing Ramita.㽶Ƶֱ

Fiona Coyle has been charged with attempted murder in this incident, and is scheduled to appear in Nelson court on Oct. 8. The allegations against her have not been proven in court.



bill.metcalfe@nelsonstar.com

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Bill Metcalfe

About the Author: Bill Metcalfe

I have lived in Nelson since 1994 and worked as a reporter at the Nelson Star since 2015.
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