"You're On Your Own" ... "Trust Me, You're On Your Own"

"He's just terrorized the whole community. Everybody's always on edge with this guy around."

"I know how long it's going to take for the cops to come. It's going to take them15, 20 minutes. And a lot can happen in that time."

"I pulled up into the front of his house ... and before I could even get my door open, he comes flying out of there with the axe again, and just hit the passenger side door where my son was sitting and just missed him by fractions of an inch."

"The handle of the splitting maul stopped it from going in further. Jordan didn't even see it coming because it was kind of in his blind spot."

"It should be attempted murder. If you'd seen how that axe hit that truck .. if he connected, that was it."

"Even when the cops were putting him in the back of the car, he says, 'Darin, I'm going to kill you and your family' -- right in front of the cop. He says, 'I'm gonna be out tomorrow'. He's smart enough to know the law because he's been around it long enough."

Darin Swanson, 60, resident of Masset, northern coast inlet, Haida Gwaii, British Columbia

Haida Gwaii   Archipelago in British Columbia

 

Darin Swanson's son Jordan Holt drove over to the beach at Masset on Thursday evening, planning to watch the sunset. A vehicle pulled up beside him on his way. The driver shouted for him to pull over. So he stopped, under the impression that this was a driver looking for help. When he stepped out of his truck the driver of the second vehicle ran up to him swinging a splitting maul -- a top-heavy axe used to split firewood. The first swing nicked him on the hip, and when he attempted to deflect the second swing he bent his thumb, the axe smashing into the driver's side window on the open door of his Ford truck.

 

Wood splitting maul

Jordan hopped back into his truck, the driver shouting at him to get the truck out of his town, hitting the passenger side window as he drove off. Jordan called the police, then he called his father, a member of he Haida Gwaii hereditary chiefs council.  They both drove in Darin's truck to the suspect's property, intending to block the driveway to ensure the attacker remained until the arrival of police. After the first several swings of that maul, both men tackled their attacker to the ground, and held him until he was taken into custody by police.

 

The RCMP issued a statement: "Police determined the man needed treatment at the hospital, where he was released on strict conditions and will be required to attend court in October." Needless to say, that statement struck Swanson and his son, leaving his family on "high alert". "[Jordan], he's got a shotgun ready to go", said Darin of his son, preparing himself for another possible confrontation by his attacker. It is not only these two men who are increasingly frustrated with the situation; it is a sentiment expressed by the entire community.

 

Police were called four times in recent weeks by other victims of the attacker in separate assaults. Police, moreover suggested to Swanson that he and his son may have instigated the incident. "They gaslight you. they make it your problem. The cop even said, 'Well, why the hell did your son get out of the truck?' Because he thought somebody might have needed help. So it's my son's fault that he got attacked by an axe? The whole situation sucks ... You're on your own. Trust me, you are on your own."

 

Swanson predicted that without some kind of action, someone will be hurt or killed. "It's gone to a whole new level. It's going to be him, or whoever. His own safety is in jeopardy now ... I don't know if [police] are scared of this guy or they're just tired of him. That will be the conclusion of it. It's him or it's us. That's what it's going to come down to, and I'm going to protect my family." 

 

A photo of the truck of Jordan Holt, which was allegedly smashed by an axe-wielding man in Masset, Haida Gwaii, last week. Photo by Lori Holt /Facebook

 

"That night, I went to bed with a pipe, a knife and bear spray by my bed. I went through the house, made sure all my windows were locked. I made sure all the doors were locked."

"...We just took all kinds of measures, and I couldn't sleep until four in the morning, thinking, 'Is this guy going to walk out of the hospital and burn my house down'?"

Darin Swanson

 

Haida Gwaii, B.C. Heaven on Earth