Man accused of attacking pastor discharged from hospital despite warnings, brother says

The older brother of a man charged with attacking a pastor at a Winnipeg church says his brother was discharged from hospital even after he warned a doctor and nurses that the man had been hearing voices telling him to kill a priest.

The man, whom CBC is not naming because he's concerned about his own and his brother's safety, says his brother texted him on Jan. 11, while he was hospitalized. 

"Do you know why I am in the hospital?" said a text that was seen by CBC. "Because I hear voices to kill a priest to save my own life.… I feel I am threatened and my life is in danger."

A man went to the front of Holy Ghost Parish on Selkirk Avenue during a service on Feb. 9 and advanced at the pastor, video from the livestreamed service shows. The pastor quickly moved away and the man drove a knife into the table that serves as an altar and sat down in a chair behind it before being restrained by parishioners, including an off-duty RCMP officer.

The accused man's brother decided to speak to the CBC because he believes the attack could have been prevented if his brother had received proper care.

The man said after he got the text about killing a priest, he called Health Sciences Centre and told the nurse in charge that his brother was "unstable, sick and a danger to society."

The man says two days later, he got another message from his brother, saying the hospital was discharging him.

"I just met with the doctor. I told her I still feel threatened and if I leave the hospital I will murder someone in self defense," the text said.

Moments later, he received another message, saying "good news, they're letting me out."

The man said he called the hospital again on Jan. 13 and spoke to his brother's doctor, who he says explained the reason for discharging him.

"I explained to her and read the message again," he said.

"I said, are you guys letting him out? And this is what she responded to me, quote, he was able to fill out all forms correctly and has been through the system many times," the brother said, referring to notes he took. 

Shared Health, the agency that oversees Health Sciences Centre, would not confirm the man was a patient at the hospital due to privacy rules. 

However, it did say that in general, "Discharge is based on the assessments and ongoing treatment needs of each patient as deemed appropriate by the treating physician/psychiatrist."