A Downtown Eastside man has now been charged after BB rounds were fired at buses travelling along East Hastings Street last winter, Vancouver police said Wednesday.
These rounds smashed bus windows and potentially put passengers in danger, police added.
“This was a difficult investigation, given the number of buses that were targeted and because none of the crimes were immediately reported,” VPD Sgt. Steve Addison said in a release. “Investigators worked backwards to pinpoint the exact location where the crimes occurred, to identify the suspect, and to gather evidence linking the suspect to the crimes.”
Through the investigation by Vancouver police and Metro Vancouver Transit Police, it was discovered windows on 26 transit buses were broken by projectiles while the buses travelled through the Downtown Eastside between Jan. 17 and Jan. 31.
However, no victims came forward and there were no reported injuries, police added.
In most cases, the damage wasn’t noticed by the bus drivers until after they had finished their shifts.
Working together, investigators from VPD and Metro Vancouver Transit Police were able to narrow down the location of the offences to a small area on East Hastings Street, between Columbia and Carrall streets, police said.
Officers were able to identify and charge William Tallio, 43.
Initially, a Canada-wide warrant was issued for his arrest. Vancouver police confirmed Thursday he was arrested in Vancouver.
He now faces charges of 11 counts of mischief and 11 counts of possession of a weapon.
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