A 17-year-old boy has been charged after a taxi driver was punched through his cab’s open window and then, when he got out, was chased by the knife-wielding attacker.

Shortly after midnight Friday, someone walked up to the cab, which was parked in the lot of the Holiday Inn on Pembina Highway near McGillivray Boulevard.

For unknown reasons, he engaged the driver in a verbal argument, which escalated into the punch, police said in a news release.

The 18-year-old cab driver stepped out of the car and the attacker pulled out a large knife and chased him around the lot, attempting to stab him, police said.

The attacker ran off before police were contacted by hotel staff. The driver was not injured.

A teen police suspect was the attacker appeared at the hotel just before 1 a.m. and was arrested. He had a combat-style knife that was seized as evidence, police said in the news release.

The teen is charged with assault, assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon and failing to comply with a probation order.

There were also two outstanding warrants for his arrest at the time, for assault with a weapon, uttering threats, and failing to comply with conditions of a sentence.