The attack took place on Kerry Street, and the area has seen several other women post about feeling unsafe
Attack victim

Knife attack victim urges public to stay safe

Oct 8, 2024 | 4:31 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – A regular Thursday afternoon for Savanna Shaw quickly became a nightmare, as she was allegedly attacked by a man with a knife at her own front door in the Kerry Street area.

“I was confused as to why he was attacking me, considering he was in my yard to begin with. With the knife, I didn’t even fully comprehend the fact that there was one or what that could have been until after we even left the hospital,” Shaw said.

Shaw fortunately has been recovering well and got out of the incident with relatively minor injuries, but that still required a hospital trip to put three stitches in her head due to a knife injury, alongside several bruises and other minor cuts.

“He got aggressive with me. He started out with just his fists, he then pulled out a blade. I didn’t remember getting cut at first until after I called 991 again, and they were at my house and I wiped my face off and noticed I was bleeding. That was when I started to freak out with the whole ordeal,” she added.

“That could have gone a completely different way. I could have been getting a completely different phone call at work, right? I’m just thankful,” Shaw’s fiancé Taylor Nielsen said.

Shaw explained she started to feel uneasy earlier in the day when she felt like she was being followed by a woman.

“She did look like maybe she was under the influence or something, so I didn’t think too much of it. I was bigger than her too, so if she got too close and did something I could hold my ground. I did call the RCMP to let them know, they took down the information, and because there was no active threat in that time we just hung up,” she explained.

The Kerry Street and 15th Avenue area unfortunately is no stranger to feelings of danger or feeling followed, as several Facebook posts show there are some that are concerned about potential stalkers or crime in the area.

A comment under a post from Shaw explaining her situation
A separate post on September 7, 2024, highlighting a potentially dangerous situation

CKPG News reached out to the RCMP to confirm the details of Shaw’s case, and also ask how RCMP is responding to these situations and reports and keeping our streets safe, but RCMP never responded to both voicemails or emails. However, Shaw and Nielsen both say the police’s response to their situation has been great.

“I’m happy with their response and how they’re handling my situation. Do I think Prince George can be safer? Yes, I think every city could be safer,” Shaw said.

“I’m actually very happy with the amount of contact that they’ve had with her, checking in on her, just to see how she’s doing with everything, to see if she wants to add anything to the case or if they missed anything or anything like that. They’ve been very attentive to what’s going on with her, and I’m very pleased with that,” Nielsen added.

While Shaw and Nielsen both know the situation could have ended far worse, they’re both now advocating for everyone to stay safe to hopefully avoid a situation like this from repeating.

“Be on the phone with somebody, if not the RCMP, you want to always look like and sound like you are talking to somebody. If there’s a witness, I think that’s the best outcome. Don’t confront like I did, your adrenaline and fight or flight will kick in, you’re probably going to do what I did and confront. But know if you do confront, it can go like 0 to 100 really quick. The whole situation can escalate,” Shaw said.

“If you can, don’t walk alone, because I don’t want what happened to her to happen to anybody else,” Nielsen added.

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