A 13-year-old boy accused of stabbing a cab driver in Sydney is being sent for a psychiatric assessment.
The teen will undergo a 30-day mental health assessment at the IWK Health Centre after a request was made by the Crown during a bail hearing in Sydney on Tuesday.
He has been charged with aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, and two breaches of probation in connection with the incident.
The charges come after patrol officers with Cape Breton Regional Police noticed a Dynasty taxi stopped on Bentinck Street in Sydney around 3:40 a.m. Saturday. Police say the driver appeared to be involved in an altercation with someone inside the vehicle and was yelling for help.
When officers approached the vehicle, they found the 65-year-old man bleeding and suffering from several stab wounds.
The man was taken to the Cape Breton Regional Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. He has since been released from hospital and is recovering at home.
Police say the driver and the accused didn’t know each other, and that the teen had been picked up as a fare.
The Crown says it requested the mental health assessment after learning new information about the teen’s background.
“There are some concerns that were raised that triggered the potential for this type of an assessment, and it’s very comprehensive, it’s a psychological and psychiatric assessment combined,” says Crown attorney Steve Drake. “We’ve done them many times in the past, and the information we got yesterday basically pushed us in that direction.”
The teen is due back in court for a status update on June 20.
