A Vancouver woman charged in the stabbing of another woman using a hypodermic needle had a warrant for her arrest after failing to attend court Nov. 12.
Cathleen Constance Cunningham, 35, was charged with aggravated assault in connection with a situation where an unnamed woman was stabbed in the leg with a syringe last month.
Cunningham was due in court but failed to attend, leading Judge John Milne to issue an arrest warrant.
She also faces charges of uttering threats.
“All signs point to this being a random and unprovoked assault on a victim who did nothing wrong,” Vancouver Police Department Sgt. Steve Addison at the time of the incident. “Fortunately, the woman quickly called police and we were able to identify a suspect.”
The incident occurred around 5:30 p.m. Oct. 27, as the 23-year-old victim was leaving a coffee shop near Main and East Pender streets.
“Investigators believe the woman may have been followed out of the coffee shop and confronted by the suspect, who then stabbed her with the dirty needle,” Addison said. “Because we don’t know what was in the needle and whether there will be any long-term health impacts, the victim was taken to hospital for treatment.”
Those impacts remain unknown at this time.
Cunningham also faces earlier charges including assault, wilfully resisting a police officer and dealing with identity documents without lawful excuse.
The court heard there was already an outstanding warrant on earlier charges.
She was initially released from custody after agreeing to attend court at a later date.
