WARNING: Some of the details of this story are disturbing. Discretion is advised.
A longtime Chinatown resident is struggling to recover from a terrifying and violent attack, caught on video, that has left her physically and emotionally shattered.
The 40-year-old victim was sitting outside her building on Gore Avenue on April 9 with her cat, chatting with her neighbours.
She said there were three teenage girls at a bus stop nearby and one of them said to her, “What are you looking at?”
The victim, who Global News is identifying as Angelina as she is concerned for her safety, said she responded by saying “nothing.”
That’s when Angelina said the three girls came over and started attacking her, stomping on her head and kicking her.
“I was just in shock, all I could think was, ‘Don’t touch my cat’, I was trying to protect my cat,” she told Global News. “I just kept saying to them, ‘Stop, I have my cat’.”
In the video, the cat, Leonard, can be seen clinging to the bars on the front door, trying to get away from the violence.
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The attack went on for several minutes. A woman tried to help but she was attacked, along with a bystander who called 911.
Angelina said she has never felt unsafe before in the neighbourhood but with this incident happening out of nowhere, it has rattled her.
She now has staples in one side of her head, along with a concussion and whiplash.
Leonard is also “banged up”, she said, and he has spent his time since the attack hiding under the bed and shaking.
“He used to be the most outgoing, fun cat,” Angelina said. “And now, just heartbreaking.”
She is also unable to work for a while and a GoFundMe has been set up to help with any expenses.
Vancouver police confirmed that the three teenage girls, ages 15, 16 and 17 were arrested later that night in the Downtown Eastside but were released. They are due back in court in June.
“I know they haven’t been charged with anything, animal abuse-wise,” Angelina said. “For me, I don’t care, but for my cat, I don’t think so.”
Chris Livingstone, with the aboriginal front door society told Global News violence in the community has been getting worse.
“There’s a lot of violence on this street,” he said.
“We do notice that people are not very tolerant of each other. We see a lot of racism.”
Livingstone said there are a lot of people struggling with mental health issues and sometimes it just seems if you look at someone the “wrong way” then you could be attacked, as in Angelina’s case.
He added that there is still a sense of community and belonging in the neighbourhood but the streets have become more dangerous and many people don’t feel safe.
“If you’re a woman, how is it that you can walk around here and feel safe? I would say its nearly non-existent.”
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