A 41-year-old man was charged with attempted murder Monday at the Montreal court house following a stabbing in Pointe-Claire that left a woman in critical condition.

Olushola Adweole is expected in court for a bail hearing on Tuesday.

Foluke Olowe was still in critical but stable condition Monday afternoon.

Adweole was arrested last year for assaulting Olowe, but the charges were dropped in exchange for a peace bond. It meant that he could not contact her unless she contacted him for a year.

Fire truck at the right place, right time

A woman in her 40's was stabbed around 2:15 p.m. at 251 Stillview Ave. on Sunday afternoon.

Peter Ascoli called 911 when he heard screaming coming from the house.

"I just saw a woman came running out, she screamed 'call 911!' then she collapsed on the lawn, and I called 911 as soon as I heard that," said Ascoli.

But before police arrived, a fire truck drove down the street, going towards its station near Lakeshore General Hospital.

Dramatic scene

Neighbours flagged down the truck, and while some firefighters started helping the woman, others grabbed axes and prevented the man, who was also bleeding from several knife cuts, from leaving the house.

"The man came up to the patio door and the firefighters told him to stay inside and not to move," said Michel Gareau of the fire department. "They were actually trying to defend themselves. They took care of the woman who had multiple lacerations and very shortly after, they say like three minutes later, police came and secured the house."

The man and woman were taken to hospital and treated for their injuries.

As of Sunday evening, police say the woman is in critical condition and may die.

Domestic anger

The couple's three children, aged four to seven, were inside the house at the time.

Neshat Khorsandi babysat the children last week. She says the father seemed quite angry at the time.

"The dad didn't know I was there so he was about to hit one of the kids, because he thought he was home alone, and the kid was like 'there's a babysitter here' and he's like 'oh'," said Khorsandi.

Neigbours say they have heard the couple arguing several times.

"I heard them screaming a few times late at night, just on and off for the past two months," said Mark D'Entremont.

The children are now in the care of youth protection services.