Downtown shopping trip gone wrong leaves Sask. newcomer afraid to leave her home

WARNING — This story contains graphic details

It was supposed to be a simple shopping trip in downtown Saskatoon for 25-year-old Syeda Sumika Zaidi, her husband and her family.

Last Thursday, Zaidi, her husband, 30-year-old Owais Khan, and a couple of other relatives were heading to Midtown Plaza late in the afternoon.

As Khan was parking their vehicle behind the mall, Zaidi got out and began walking towards the mall. A few seconds later, she felt searing pain.

“Somebody just came behind me and she just stabbed me so hard and she pushed me. Luckily I didn’t fall on the road. She just ran away … On her right side was a butcher knife — a big butcher knife,” Zaidi recalled.

She ran back towards her husband who was sitting in the car.

“It was so difficult for me to run because my right side was bleeding so much that I just barely got to my husband. It was so terrifying for me. I have never, ever gone through this. We just called the ambulance and police and it all just happened in five minutes,” she said.

Zaidi was stabbed on the right side of her back, between her hip and her kidney.

She caught a glimpse of the woman who hurt her, describing her as having short hair. Zaidi was taken to the hospital by ambulance where she received stitches and medication. She’s now recovering at home, but is scared to leave the house.

“I can’t sleep all night. Right now I’m in huge pain and … I’m so scared because of this attack. All the time I just ask my husband to look around because he’s out of the house (and to) stay alert. I’m just worried about my husband and my family,” Zaidi said.

“Sometimes I’m scared being alone in my room.”

Khan said seeing his wife, who came to Canada from Pakistan three and a half months ago, injured like that was awful.

“She came back to the car and she was crying and shouting. She was all covered in blood and bleeding bad,” he said. “We are having such a hard time right now.”

Khan said it’s not the first time he and his family have had a frightening encounter in the downtown area.

“I went to the downtown a few times. It looks so sketchy. Different kinds of people are in your face. You never know if they are going to assault you or they are going to hurt you,” he said.

He’s not sure what the solution to the violence may be, other than having more security or police officers in the area.

“They should take some take some safety measures. Somebody could die. They could kill somebody. Now, it’s happening almost every day,” he added. “They should punish these criminals hard.”

For now, he and his family are concentrating on Zaidi’s recovery.

“Her mental state is not good right now,” Khan said. “She’s so scared … I’m taking care of her. We’re all taking care of her.”

He said people who spend time in downtown Saskatoon should remain aware of their surroundings at all times.

In a news release, Saskatoon police said they responded to a call about a 35-year-old woman who was also stabbed around the same time. Police believe both incidents are random.

A 28-year-old woman was arrested a short time with a large knife in her waistband.

She’s been charged with two counts of assault causing bodily harm, possession of a weapon, carrying a concealed weapon, and breach of probation.