UPDATE: Vancouver police arrested a 33-year-old man in connection with the two assaults. The man is currently in custody on unrelated assault charges as police continue to investigate. Police said mental health issues are believed to be a factor in the attacks.
They are looking for more witnesses come forward in the two cases.
Police have recommended criminal charges in the second assault. However, investigators have not obtained enough evidence to support the recommendation of charges in the first attack near Ash Street.
Anyone who witnessed the assault or who observed the suspect is asked to call the VPD at 604-717-2541.
Previous story from May 26, 2016:
Vancouver police are investigating after two elderly women were assaulted on the west side of the city in separate incidents on Thursday.
The first assault happened just before noon, on Broadway near Ash Street. An 84-year-old woman was sitting on her walker, waiting for a ride, when a stranger came by and kicked her off her seat.
The woman is now recovering in hospital with a broken elbow.
The second assault happened two hours later near Broadway and Granville. A 70-year-old woman in a wheelchair was out with her daughter, when she was approached by a man who punched her in the face and walked off.
In the first attack, the suspect is described as a white male in his twenties, five-foot-ten with a medium build and full beard. Police say he was wearing a dark navy top, baseball hat and white shoes.
The victim and witnesses in the second incident were unable to provide a description to police.
Constable Brian Montague with Vancouver Police says, based on the type of assault, the location and time, investigators believe both attacks could have been committed by the same person, but they have not identified the suspect yet.
VPD officers will be out in the area where the assaults happened again today, looking for any surveillance video.
“Likely this is someone we have dealt with before,” says Montague, adding they are not excluding the possibility the suspect may suffer from a mental illness or drug addiction.
He says police have already obtained some grainy video of the suspect, but they are not releasing it due to the poor quality.
“We have an obligation to identify someone before we release any video publicly,” he says. “There are laws and rules that require us to do that.”
There doesn’t appear to be any real motive behind the attacks.
In at least in one of the incidents, Montague says the suspect had the opportunity to take the victim’s purse, but did not.
“So robbery does not appear to be a motive here,” he says.
Anyone with information on either of the assaults, or anyone who sees the suspect in question, is asked to phone the Vancouver Police Department.
Comments