Article content continued

“We cannot remember an incident of this severity in our collective memory,” he said at a Thursday afternoon news conference.

Photo by Gavin Young / Calgary Herald

Police and paramedics were called to a fight involving several people on the west Stampede midway, shortly after midnight on Thursday.

One victim remains in hospital in critical condition.

EMS said the victim, a man in his early 30s, was discovered with an apparent stab wound to the torso and rushed to hospital.

Two other men who also suffered stab wounds were released from hospital Thursday, according to police.

Police said two victim were located on the Stampede grounds, and a third victim was initially apprehended as a person of interest near the Stampede, then taken to hospital when officers discovered he had also been stabbed.

Staff Sgt. Robin Van Gastel said following the incident, three persons of interest were quickly apprehended outside the grounds, in the area of 13th Avenue and Centre Street, and taken in for questioning.

They have since been released.

Van Gastel said several thousand people were on the grounds at the time of the stabbing and police are appealing to witnesses to come forward with any information or cellphone video footage.

A weapon has not been recovered.

By noon Thursday, the tape was gone and Stampede operations were back to normal.

Van Gastel said the stabbing incident doesn’t appear to be random and as part of the investigation, officers are hoping to identify the reason the altercation took place, and how a weapon got onto the grounds.