‘I didn’t realize what was happening until it was almost too late:’ Saskatoon CPA recounts Friday hatchet attack

A Saskatoon chartered professional accountant had a chilling downtown encounter Friday at around noon.

Greg Keller had been out for lunch with five people. As he was leaving, a man near Saskatoon’s Lighthouse approached him, wielding a hatchet.

The man charged at the group, hatchet in hand, causing the group to flee in separate directions. No one was injured in the alleged attack, but Keller joined Gormley on Monday to talk about the incident.

“We just crossed 20th on Second Avenue on the theatre side and I was chatting with one individual and three were in front of us,” he said. “All of a sudden, the next thing I knew, it was, ‘Greg, you gotta run,’ and the three in front of me took off straight, and the woman took off left.”

Keller said the members of his group were all shaken up following the incident. Once he was far enough away, he was able to pull out his phone and call 911.

“I didn’t realize what was happening until it was almost too late,” he said. “(A) police van pulled up in a short time. It was under a minute, I think. They must have been closer in the area.

“(Police) said they found the hatchet on the roadway, and later went into the Lighthouse and found the individual who had chased us.”

The suspect was arrested, according to Keller.

Keller said he has since contacted Saskatoon City Council, Saskatoon Police and Downtown YXE about the incident. He said he hasn’t been able to reach out to the Lighthouse about the incident as of yet.

“I kinda wasted half a day on Friday sitting in my office, shaking,” he said.

Keller said he is worried about the safety of other business owners in the area, and those making their way in and around the downtown district.

“I understand that the service is needed. Certainly, mental health is an issue that needs to be dealt with,” he said. “It’s in the middle of the day, and it’s scary, and I know that other businesses that I know down there, their businesses are suffering.

“If we want to have a vibrant downtown with (the city) wanting people to live down there, live in the core, this is an issue that has to be dealt with before we can encourage that.”

The Lighthouse is a supported living facility that provides emergency shelter and affordable housing to those in need in the city.

A spokesperson for the Lighthouse told 650 CKOM they cannot comment on whether or not the suspect had accessed their services. The spokesperson said they work closely with police when any crimes happen around their building.