Vancouver police say they have arrested a man who threatened a homeless resident of the Hastings Street encampment with a loaded gun on Saturday.
Officers were called to an altercation behind the Carnegie Centre early Saturday morning to reports of an altercation between two men, police said in a Tuesday media release.
The victim was unharmed, and police captured the suspect about a block away.
“People without homes are already far more likely to become victims of violent crime than those who have stable housing, and those risks increase for people living in and around encampments,” Sgt. Steve Addison said.
“This incident underscores the dangers facing vulnerable people – especially those living on the streets in the Downtown Eastside.”
Police said Luis Alfredo Gaitan-Tijeniro, 33, has been charged with assault, possession of a weapon, uttering threats, unauthorized possession of a loaded firearm and use of a firearm in the commission of an offence.
Police said they had recorded a 45 per cent increase in serious assaults and assaults with weapons in the DTES encampment between July 1 and Aug. 31 over the same period last year.