Update: Second party charged – Attempted murder charges laid in ongoing investigation

Editorial note: please see bottom of article for the latest update.

Kingston Police are currently investigating a violent incident that took place in the downtown core that left one man with severe, life-threatening injuries.

The incident, which involved violence behaviour from two different men, occurred shortly after 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Jun. 29, 2021. Kingston Police received multiple 911 calls at that time regarding two men fighting with weapons – one man with a baseball bat, the other with a sword.

According to police, both of the men reside in the same downtown building, which is where the incident began. A confrontation between the two – the 48-year-old man and the accused man, a 37-year-old. While still inside the building, the 48-year-old struck the 37-year-old with a baseball bat before fleeing the building through a fire escape. The 37-year-old then grabbed a sword and left the building through the main floor “where he was overhead making threats to kill the other male,” Kingston Police said in a press release on Wednesday, Jun. 30, 2021.

The accused man, armed with the sword, chased the other male onto Garrett Street, where violence ensued once again.

“The male with the bat struck the accused in the head/face, while the accused swung the sword repeatedly cutting the other male in multiple areas,” Const. Cam Mack of Kingston Police said in the release.

“The two separated and the accused returned to the building, where he left the sword before going to a nearby store.”

Multiple witnesses saw the incidents unfold, and reported a scene involving a lot of blood as a result of the altercation.

Responding officers located both males, who were then accompanied by police to hospital. According to police, the 48-year-old man (who had the bat during the altercation) sustained severe, life-threatening injuries, and remains in hospital. The 37-year-old accused man was treated for his injuries at hospital, and then transported to Kingston Police Headquarters, where he was held in cells pending a bail hearing.

The 37-year-old Kingston man was charged with:

• Attempted murder
• Aggravated assault
• Uttering death threats
• Possession of/carrying weapons for the purpose of committing an offence.

UPDATE (Friday, Jul. 9, 2021):
Kingston Police announced on Friday, Jul. 9, 2021, that charges have been laid against the second man involved in this incident.

According to police, after further investigation — and “once his medical condition had stabilized” — the 48-year-old, who was armed with a baseball bat during the altercation, was placed under arrest in the ICU and charged with with assault causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon.

“He was later released on conditions with a future court date,” Kingston Police said in a press release. “Although expected to recover, this individual will continue to live with life altering injuries as a result of this violent incident.”

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