It's an experience that no one wants to be a part of, but on Thursday night a pastor and her husband were in the right place at the right time. 

Melvina Guiboche, associate pastor at Encounter Life Fellowship in Winnipeg, Manitoba, was shopping at the Foot Locker store in CF Polo park with her husband when chaos erupted.

"All of a sudden we heard a big commotion around the corner. A couple of employees swung around the corner with another man, who I guess was trying to steal, said Guiboche. "They wrestled and wrestled and the bad guy. He tried to get away but they tackled him to the ground. And all of a sudden he swung and he had a knife in his hand and he stabbed and punctured one of the employees right in the neck."

"There was just a presence of God that just came all over us and he just calmed down"

Guiboche said fear immediately tried to take over, but as quickly as the feeling overcame her, it disappeared. It was then she heard a small, still, small voice say, "pray for him".

"The young man who got hurt was only 19 years old and he was so frantic and confused," said Guiboche. "You could tell that he was scared. He sat down, I walked up to him and introduced myself and asked him if I could pray for him, immediately he said yes."

Guiboche together with her husband, Dakotah, laid hands on him and began praying for him.

"There was just a presence of God that just came all over us and he just calmed down," Guiboche explained.

Melvina and Dakotah Guiboche prayed for the stabbing victim as well as with the young man's co-workers. (Supplied)

"I have a comforter that lives inside of me and he needed to reach that young man that was hurting"

But her work didn't end there. Melvina was drawn to two other people in the store, a woman that was closely involved with the event and a man that was experiencing an anxiety attack. In both cases, she asked if she could pray for them and they again said yes.

Guiboche says it was very out of character for her to just walk up to complete strangers and share the love of Jesus.

"It just came upon me. It's just the love of God. Compassion just overtook me," she said.

"I could have just stood there and witnessed it, but I have a comforter that lives inside of me and he needed to reach that young man that was hurting. I don't know what took over me, I know it had to be God and I just did what God directed me to do."

Winnipeg Police say the 19-year-old male employee was taken to hospital in unstable condition but has since been upgraded to stable.

A 17-year-old male has been arrested and is facing numerous charges.