‘Heartbreaking’: Victim’s friends in deadly Vancouver attack mourn his passing

At the Avalon SRO in downtown Vancouver, residents are deeply saddened.

Their friend and fellow resident, Dave Laporte was murdered in a savage attack last week.

Seventy-year-old Laporte lived at the Avalon for the past 18 years.

Every day he walked, often from about 3 a.m. until 7 a.m.. Last Wednesday he was on his way home when he was viciously attacked and killed by a man with a knife near the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

2:55 Suspect charged in Vancouver stranger attacks

Laporte’s Friend “Al” told Global News that Laporte was a “very pleasant gentleman. I’m sorry what happened, happened,” he said.

“I can’t reiterate enough that he was a nice guy, ya know. It shouldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.”

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Minutes before Laporte was killed, the suspect allegedly attacked a second man, slicing off his hand. He continues to recover after his hand was re-attached.

Thirty-four-year-old Brendan Colin McBride of White Rock has been charged with murder and aggravated assault. He remains in custody and is due in court later this month.

When the knife attacks happened, McBride was on probation for an assault conviction.

At the Avalon, Laporte’s murder has left residents worried about their safety and deeply traumatized.

Commenting on Dave’s murder, his friend Al said it’s “heartbreaking that someone that old had to meet his end the way he did.”