Town 'hoping and praying' for boy stabbed at Topsail soccer field

The mayor of Conception Bay South says people in the town are having trouble coping with the stabbing of a young boy on a soccer pitch on Thursday evening.

The boy, believed to be 11, was stabbed in the neck during a soccer camp in the Topsail neighbourhood of C.B.S., a suburban town west of St. John's. Nicholas Layman, 19, appeared in court Friday on charges of aggravated assault and assault with a weapon. He was later charged with attempted murder.

• Topsail soccer stabbing: Nicholas Layman, 19, charged
• Boy stabbed at Topsail soccer field in serious condition, suspect in custody

C.B.S. Mayor Ken McDonald said the community is in a state of disbelief, following the stabbing.

"To think something like that could happen on one of our soccer fields to this extent," he said. "I mean, you often hear tell of a kid getting hurt playing a sport, whether it's soccer or hockey or whatever, but to hear tell of someone actually running out onto the field and stabbing an 11-year-old child in the neck with a knife is beyond comprehension."

McDonald said despite the chaos at the scene immediately following the stabbing, soccer staff were quick to organize the kids and get them off the field while waiting for police to respond.

"I think it was a bit of turmoil for a short while because when it first happened and the other kids saw what had taken place their first instinct was to run to the sidelines to get to their parents or relatives or whoever was there," he said.

Stable condition

​A source close to the family said the boy was in stable condition as of Friday afternoon.

McDonald said while people in the community are still in a state of shock, their focus is on making sure the victims — the hospitalized boy and his family, as well as the other children and parents who were at the field — get the support they need.

These types of things are not supposed. They're not supposed to happen anywhere, but they're certainly not supposed to happen in Newfoundland and Labrador.- Premier Paul Davis

"I do know that he had surgery throughout the night, and he's still in serious but stable condition, and I guess they'll monitor him for the next few days and as a community we're all hoping and praying that he comes through this with flying colours," he said.

Layman, meanwhile, was sent for a psychiatric assessment following a court appearance Friday afternoon. He's set to appear in court again following the assessment.

A town's tragedy

The stabbing comes less than one year after a double-murder suicide in C.B.S. that stunned people across Canada. In October 2013, Juliane Hibbs and her boyfriend Vince Dillon were shot and killed by Hibbs' former boyfriend Brian Dawe.

• Double murder-suicide rattles Newfoundland town

Dawe later drove to a cemetery in neighbouring Mount Pearl, where he shot and killed himself.

Premier Paul Davis, who is MHA for Topsail and a former town councillor for C.B.S., said Thursday night he was saddened by the events that happened in his own community.

"I can tell you, this is tough on this community. It was about a year ago when a very tragic incident occurred here and impacted some of the children who were on this field tonight, so this is nothing short of devastating for this community," said Davis, who retired as an RNC officer before entering provincial politics.

"These types of things are not supposed. They're not supposed to happen anywhere, but they're certainly not supposed to happen in Newfoundland and Labrador."

'Hits the bottom of your heart'

Len Hillier, a retired soccer coach in C.B.S. who was at the soccer pitch Friday morning, said when he heard about the stabbing in the news, he felt the need to go down and see what was going on.

"When I saw all the soccer balls and nobody moving around here, and after hearing this on the news, it sort of hits to the bottom of your heart," said Hillier.

"I can only imagine what those children went through last night when all this happened, especially the family. My heart goes out to them."

Hillier said as a former coach, he knows how tightly wound together to community is. He added the kids who were at the field may never be able to look at their community's field the same way again.

"You grow up with those kids, to a certain extent, and you just ... it's scary to see what's going on these days, because those children, you coach them over the years and they grow almost to be a part of your own family, especially children that young," he said.

"Before this incident, I looked at things, the good things that happened here with me and all the children that I coached over the years, but now when they probably look at this field as they pass by, that's probably the first thing that will come into their mind."

Additional counselling available

Guidance councillors were at schools in C.B.S. Friday to help students and teachers in the aftermath of the stabbing incident.

Jill Kelly, an educational psychologist, said support staff was sent to Holy Family School in Paradise, where the victim attends, as well as other schools in the area.

"Certainly we have a lot of students who are in shock, and teachers as well, about what has happened. Some students are expressing they're afraid, some are anxious, worried, and certainly a huge outpouring of strong feelings for the family and well wishes that the young boy and his family are going to be OK," said Kelly.

She said there were group counselling available, as well as one-on-one support, for anyone in the schools who feel they need to talk.

Kelly added staff are encouraging parents to speak to their children about what happened, and said it's important to get kids to talk in general.

"We encourage parents not to worry too much about saying the right words - some people worry about they're going to say the wrong thing, but it's really just your presence and your encouragement of them to speak or express their feelings that's important," she said.