Police have pressed charges against a man for nine offenses, including attempted murder and aggravated assault, following an incident in the emergency room of the Halifax Infirmary where multiple healthcare workers were assaulted on Wednesday afternoon. The accused, Nicholas Robert Coulombe, aged 32, is currently detained. A legal representative from legal aid stood in for him during his appearance at Halifax provincial court on Thursday. Coulombe is scheduled for a bail hearing next Tuesday.
According to authorities, a patient attacked two individuals in the emergency room, resulting in injuries to one additional person as confirmed by Nova Scotia Health. Sources revealed that one of the stabbed employees was in critical condition, although Nova Scotia Health’s CEO, Karen Oldfield, informed staff in an email that the individual was now in stable condition at the hospital.
Halifax Regional Police responded to a call reporting a knife-wielding man at the hospital around 1 p.m. on Wednesday and promptly apprehended the suspect at the scene. The emergency department was shut down to all except those with life-threatening conditions for several hours, resuming normal operations by 6 p.m. that evening.
Earlier in February, Coulombe was among several individuals instructed by Halifax Regional Municipality to vacate five encampment sites across the city. During that period, Coulombe was residing in a tent outside the city hall building at Grand Parade. He expressed uncertainty about his future accommodation plans in an interview with CBC News.
It happened on a Wednesday afternoon at the Halifax Infirmary emergency department, where two staff members were reportedly stabbed.