Police Responded to Call on the Evening of December 7th

Charges of assault, weapons, and threats were filed. The accused was released on bail with strict conditions

Thunder Bay – NEWS – On December 7, 2025, at about 7:46 p.m., officers from the Thunder Bay Police Service went to a home on Begin Street after receiving reports of a knife attack.

Officers went to the Begin Street address, where they found a man with a cut on his right hand that looked like it had been made by a knife. Police officers were apparently told that the accused had threatened to hurt someone very badly.

After the investigation, 24-year-old Karinne Kanakakeesic of Thunder Bay was arrested and charged with assault under the Criminal Code of Canada.

This crime is when someone uses force on another person without their permission or threatens to use force on them. The Crown can choose to go ahead with either a summary conviction or an indictment for this crime.

The most serious punishment is up to five years in prison if the person is charged by indictment.

Assault with a Weapon—s. 267(a)

This charge applies when someone attacks someone else while carrying, using, or threatening to use a weapon or fake weapon. It is also a mixed crime. If you are charged by indictment, the most you can get is 10 years in prison. If you are charged by summary, the most you can get is 18 months in jail and/or a fine.

Making threats to kill or hurt someone – s. 264.1(1)(a)

This crime is when someone knows they are threatening someone else with death or bodily harm. If the accusation includes threats against someone, the maximum sentence is five years in prison. If the Crown goes ahead with the case quickly, the sentence is shorter.

The Crown’s choice of how to proceed, the circumstances of the crime, and the accused’s previous record (if any) all affect the sentence in each case. Judges may also impose probation, fines, weapons prohibitions, and other conditions in addition to, or instead of, jail where permitted by law.

Kanakakeesic went before Justice of the Peace Jerry Woods on December 11, 2025, and was released on bail with a number of conditions.

The court order says that Kanakakeesic must leave Thunder Bay, and live in Weagamow Lake First Nation with her sureties.

In January 2026, Kanakakeesic is scheduled to return to court.

Kanakakeesic is innocent until proven guilty in court, and the charges against her have not been proven.