Police are looking for help to identify three people involved in an allegedly unprovoked attack in downtown Vancouver earlier this month.
Investigators said the July 11 incident, which was partially captured on camera, was just the latest in a surge of such random assaults.
“Unfortunately, stranger attacks have been prevalent in recent weeks throughout Vancouver and this is very concerning,” Const. Tania Visintin said Thursday.
“In the past two weeks, there have been 17 random assaults reported city-wide.”
In this case, police said the victim was walking home on Granville Street near Smithe Street around 3:30 a.m., when he was approached by a group.
In the video, one of the men can be seen pushing the victim down. Another person helps him up, before the group and the victim walk down the street.
According to police, the group later entered an alley with the victim, where they assaulted him and took his wallet.
“This happened around the time the bars closed on Granville Street. We know there were people still out and they may have seen what happened and can identify these men,” Visintin said.
“There is no excuse for anyone to get attacked for absolutely no reason.”
Investigators are looking for three suspects whom they described as South Asian men in their early 20s.
One suspect is about five-foot-10 with short hair and large ears. He was wearing a white T-shirt, white pants and a green jacket and carrying a black satchel across his chest.
The second suspect is described as five-foot-11 with a medium build and short dark hair. He was wearing a grey hoodie and black pants.
The third suspect is described as five-foot-nine with curly dark brown hair. He was wearing a white sweater and grey sweatpants.
Anyone who recognizes the men or has additional information is asked to contact Vancouver police.