Five women were allegedly attacked by a single individual during a 40-minute crime spree in Vancouver on Saturday that also caused thousands of dollars in property damage.
The suspect, a 38-year-old man who was possibly in psychosis at the time, was arrested and jailed after a brief struggle near Oak Street and West 10th Avenue that afternoon, according to police.
“Once again, these attacks appear completely unprovoked, and they must have been terrifying for everyone involved,” said Const. Tania Visintin in a Sunday news release.
“We believe there are more victims, and likely dozens of witnesses, who have information and cell phone video footage that can help the police investigation.”
According to Vancouver police, the man was smashing glass and destroying property near the Vancouver General Hospital around noon on Saturday.
He then allegedly approach a 40-year-old woman in her car, “made shooting gestures,” banged on the vehicle and tried to open its door. When the woman drove away, the man reportedly chased the vehicle down the street.
About 30 minutes later, the suspect allegedly chased joggers near the entrance of a nearby apartment building. Those joggers sought refuge inside the building, but the suspect allegedly smashed the front door in an attempt to pursue them, police said.
Afterward, the man reportedly accosted a female witness to that incident, cornering her and demanding her phone.
Moments later, police said the suspect approached another woman who was walking on Oak Street, allegedly grabbing her hair and punching her. She escaped with help from a bystander and both fled to a nearby building “with a number of other frightened people,” reads the news release.
The suspect allegedly chased after them through the hallways and stairwells of the building, threatening them with a large piece of broken glass.
“He was also using that broken piece of glass to threaten other women that he saw in the building,” said Visintin in a Sunday news conference.
The man was later arrested and treated for his glass cuts at the hospital.
“Thankfully nobody was injured, however the trauma that these women will face is obviously inevitable. It’s quite a terrifying incident,” said Visintin.
Asked whether the suspect was specifically targeting women, she said it certainly appeared that way.
“So far from witness accounts, he was running by men on the street and his target was females.”
The suspect, whose name is not being released while charge approval is pending, is “well known” to police, said Visintin. Police are now looking for additional victims and witnesses, including the helpful bystander and the joggers.
The suspect is described as an Indigenous man, about five feet nine inches, with short “scraggly” hair and a thin beard. He was wearing grey zip-up hoodie and dark pants.
“It would have been very obvious who this man was, he was most likely covered in blood and running around with shards of glass in his hand,” Visintin said, adding that there were about 30 minutes on Saturday when police didn’t know where he was.
Anyone with information about the incident, cell phone or dashcam footage is asked to contact the detachment at 604-717-4021.
According to Vancouver police, an average of four random, unprovoked attacks on strangers happen in the city every day.
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