Suspect charged in ‘random’ Vancouver attacks that left 1 dead, 1 with a severed hand

The man suspected in a pair of horrific stranger attacks in downtown Vancouver Wednesday that left one man dead and another with a severed hand has been charged.

Court documents show Brendan Colin McBride, 34, of White Rock has been charged with murder and aggravated assault.

The attacks began shortly after 7:30 a.m.

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Police were called to Cathedral Square at Richards and Dunsmuir streets, where they found a man in his 50s bleeding from his head, and with a severed hand.

Police have since confirmed that doctors were able to reattach the hand, but say he will have “long-lasting physical and emotional injuries.”

Minutes later, police were called to a second attack outside the Queen Elizabeth Theatre at West Georgia and Hamilton streets.

A man in his 70s was found at the scene with injuries that proved fatal.

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The suspect was arrested on Habitat Island near the Olympic Village after someone called 911 and reported he was behaving erratically.

On Wednesday, Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer said the attacks appeared “random” and described the suspect as “a very troubled man who has a lengthy history of mental health-related incidents which have resulted in more than 60 documented contacts with police throughout Metro Vancouver.”

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Court records show McBride was convicted of a 2023 assault in White Rock. The BC Prosecution Service confirmed that in 2022 he also pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm related to a 2021 incident in North Vancouver.

Bryan Ide, who lives near the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, was at the site Thursday morning laying flowers for the man who died.

“I just felt this man shouldn’t have had his life just taken away and forgotten. So this is the smallest gesture I can give him. To hopefully give him some voice,” he told Global News.

“I feel so sad. I didn’t know this gentleman, and I am sure he was just out enjoying the beautiful sunshine one moment, and then the next moment his life is viciously taken away from him.”

The attack has rattled Vancouver, where crime and public safety are shaping up to be an election issue.

On Wednesday, Chief Palmer sought to reassure the public that the city was safe, calling claims the city was “dying” both “hyperbole” and “not factual.”

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Palmer said stranger attacks were down by about 50 per cent since 2022, and pointed to a 7-per cent drop in violent crime and 17.8-per cent drop in violent assaults over the same period.

But he said the city needs help to address people with serious mental health issues and repeat offenders.

“Number one, we’ve got to stop the revolving door of justice,” he said. “We need more people to be held in custody for serious crimes. We need charges not to be stayed.”

Bridgitte Anderson, president and CEO of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, however, said falling crime statistics mean nothing to a public who feels unsafe on the streets.

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“We are hearing that people and businesses simply don’t report crimes the way they used to or maybe in the numbers they used to,” she told Global News.

“And beyond that, the perception that people have, do they feel safe on the streets, and I think when a horrific situation happens like yesterday, it makes all of us feel unsafe … that is why there is such an urgency to come together and solve these kinds of issues.”

Anderson said the attacks have put a spotlight on the need for all three levels of government to coordinate and prioritize a public safety action plan.

Premier David Eby has said the government would review the incident to “see what, if anything we could have done differently.”

He added that he would soon unveil new policy proposals on “more assertive care” for people with serious mental health and addiction problems.

Vancouver police said McBride remains in custody and is due back on court on Sept. 18.

Anyone who has information and has yet to speak to police is asked to call homicide investigators at 604-717-2500.