Parkland RCMP lay charges after stabbing in Spruce Grove

SPRUCE GROVE -- Parkland RCMP have laid charges against a Spruce Grove man after he slashed another man's arm with a knife on MacLeod Avenue.

Police report that the victim of the knife attack had attempted to intervene after the suspect had engaged in a fight with another man in the 70 block of MacLeod Avenue at approximately 4:38 p.m. on May 17, 2026. The victim allegedly tried to break up the fight when the suspect stabbed him in the back of the arm before fleeing the area on foot. 

"Police located the 24-year-old male with a laceration to his arm, and patrols were conducted in the area to locate the suspect," said Theresa Martins, Media Liaison with the Parkland RCMP detachment. "Police later received a separate complaint from a member of the public regarding the suspect and located him near Weston Drive in Spruce Grove, where he was located without incident."

39-year-old Randall Copithorne, a resident of Spruce Grove, was charged with the following offences:

• Assault,
• Assault while choking,
• Assault with a weapon,
• Possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose x2.

Copithorne was brought before a Justice of the Peace and released, with his next court date of June 10, 2026, at the Alberta Court of Justice in St. Albert. The man who was involved in the initial fight with the suspect has not been charged.