VANCOUVER – Surrey RCMP say a man was arrested in Vancouver this morning after he stabbed two shop employees and then carjacked a vehicle with the driver still inside.
Mounties say at about 9:30 a.m. they responded to a shoplifting call at a Safeway in the 7100-block of 138 Street. Upon arrival, they discovered that the suspect had assaulted two male employees with a knife, then fled on foot. The two employees were not seriously hurt.
The suspect then stole a car from a gas station at 72 Ave. and King George Blvd. with the male driver still inside.
Surrey RCMP immediately alerted police agencies across the Lower Mainland, and Vancouver Police found the vehicle in their jurisdiction.
VPD tried multiple times to stop the vehicle after it collided with two police cars. The suspect eventually fled on foot in the area of West Kent Avenue. He was arrested at about 10:30 a.m. and turned over to Surrey RCMP.
The male victim was found unharmed in the 3300-block of Cambie Street in Vancouver.
Air 1, police dog services and Emergency Response Teams all assisted in the investigation.
“This dynamic incident highlights the coordinated efforts of several police resources spanning multiple jurisdictions,” says Sgt. Dale Carr of the Surrey RCMP. “Thanks to the quick response and cooperation of our partners, we were able to successfully arrest the suspect in less than 60 minutes.”
The incident has some residents of Surrey’s Newton neighbourhood concerned. Following the stabbing, the suspect passed through the Newton Recreation Centre where hockey mom Julie Paskall was murdered last December. Last month, an intruder allegedly slashed two restaurant employees with a knife inside the kitchen of Wings restaurant near 72nd Avenue and King George Blvd.
“People keep saying, ‘Oh, it’s isolated. Don’t worry about it. The statistics don’t prove this out,'” says resident Sheena Wilkie of recent violent incidents in the neighbourhood.
“Well, I’m living it every day. I live in Newton. People are getting murdered. People are getting stabbed. I don’t know how you can deny that that’s happening. It is happening.”
Second carjacking incident
In a separate but similar incident, Vancouver police arrested a driver at Fraser and Southeast Marine Drive following what appears to be a series of car thefts.
At around 8 a.m. Friday morning, Surrey RCMP received a report of a stolen Honda Civic. A little more than an hour later, Coquitlam RCMP responded to a car theft in progress in the 700 block of Clearwater Way. The owner of a 2008 red Kia told officers a man drove up and ordered him to get out of his car and leave the keys in the ignition. The suspect then allegedly fled in the Kia, leaving behind the Honda Civic.
Witnesses reported seeing the Kia driving erratically through Burnaby and Vancouver before being abandoned in the 5800 block of Dover Crescent in Richmond. The suspect then allegedly got into a red BMW and drove over the Knight Street Bridge where he encountered Vancouver police. The BMW collided with VPD vehicles and the suspect was apprehended.
A 32-year-old suspect is in Richmond RCMP custody and faces numerous charges.
Coquitlam and Richmond RCMP are asking anyone with information in relation to this incident to contact them or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Correction: An early version of this story identified the carjacking victim as female, not male.
Comments