The quiet of a Calgary neighbourhood shattered last week when a routine lease signing spiralled into a terrifying fight for survival. A woman found herself battling for her life in her own home, forced to defend herself against a brutal attack.
The homeowner, still reeling from the ordeal, recounted meeting the man in December. He’d presented a fabricated story of needing a basement suite for his son-in-law and daughter-in-law, a tale built on deception. The man had spun a narrative of success, claiming ownership of multiple businesses, including a taxi service.
Friday’s meeting began like any other – paperwork signed, a lease agreed upon. But a subtle detail caught the homeowner’s eye: medication, suspected to be Viagra, glimpsed in the man’s coat. A nagging unease began to grow, a premonition of something deeply wrong.
The request for a house inspection felt like a stalling tactic. Then, a faint cry pierced the silence. Rushing upstairs, the homeowner found no one, only to discover a horrifying scene unfolding in the basement. His daughter was under attack.
The man had already struck her, briefly knocking her unconscious. He was relentlessly assaulting her, grabbing her hair and attempting to suffocate her. As she fought back, desperately pushing him away, he bit her fingers. In a desperate act of self-preservation, she reached for a pocketknife.
“She had no other choice,” the homeowner stated, his voice thick with emotion. “He wouldn’t stop. He just kept hitting her.” The stabbing was a last resort, a desperate attempt to end the relentless assault and save her life.
Immediately after, she fled to a neighbour, Alex Hansen, a long-time resident who had watched the homeowner’s daughter grow up. Hansen opened her door to a shocking sight: a woman covered in blood, clutching a knife, a small dog circling in confusion.
“She kept shouting that her dad was in the basement and somebody was trying to kill him,” Hansen recalled, her voice still shaken. She immediately called 911, and police arrived swiftly to a scene of unimaginable chaos.
Police investigations confirmed the homeowner’s harrowing account. Acting Staff Sgt. Scott Guterson stated that the man, identified as 48-year-old Shahbaz Ahmed, had deliberately lured the woman to the house under false pretenses.
The investigation quickly determined the woman acted in self-defence, and she will not face charges. Guterson emphasized the rarity and unsettling nature of the incident, acknowledging the woman’s actions undoubtedly saved her life. He described the case as “the most clear-cut case of self-defence” he’d ever encountered.
While authorities wouldn’t disclose Ahmed’s criminal history, they confirmed he was known to them. Guterson urged homeowners to trust their instincts when meeting prospective tenants, advising them to act on any feeling of unease or suspicion.
Hansen, still processing the trauma, found reassurance in the police presence and the personalized nature of the attack. The sight of eight police cars offered a sense of security in the wake of the terrifying event.
The homeowner repeatedly stressed that no one desired a fatal outcome. “Nobody wanted him to die,” he said, his voice heavy with sorrow. The tragedy serves as a stark reminder of the hidden dangers that can lurk beneath the surface of everyday interactions.
