A man was stabbed and taken to hospital after an altercation in downtown Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island, this morning.

Reserve Const. Gary O鈥橞rien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesperson, said a man has been taken into custody and the incident took place in the Victoria Crescent area around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 6, Police responded and after speaking with witnesses, learned that a man had been stabbed and a suspect had fled the scene.

Police were on scene searching from China Steps to Port Place shopping centre and found the suspect at the mall a short time later.

O鈥橞rien said the victim is at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital with a 鈥渟erious stab wound.鈥�

The suspect, a man in his 30s, faces a charge of assault causing bodily harm, noted a subsequent press release. The knife that was alleged to have been used has not been found and police are continuing their search, the press release said. The investigation is ongoing.

While police initially thought the stabbing followed a purse-snatching incident, they have since learned that is not the situation.

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