Vancouver police say five people were stabbed in less than an hour early Sunday morning as Halloween party-goers flooded the city’s bars, restaurants and entertainment zones.
Officers responded to a triple stabbing at a bar near Oak Street and West Broadway around 1:30 a.m. after a confrontation between groups left three men seriously injured, police said.
The three victims were all men in their 20s from White Rock and were in Vancouver for a birthday celebration. One was treated at the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, but two others were more seriously hurt and remain in the hospital, police said. The suspects fled the scene.
The second incident occurred less than an hour later when Vancouver officers were patrolling downtown and intervened in a large fight on Granville Street.
Two men in their 20s suffered stab wounds to the face, hands, and torso, and required hospitalization, police said. The suspects, in this case, have also not been identified.
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“At this stage in the investigations, we believe these stabbings occurred in two separate and unrelated incidents,” Sgt. Steve Addison said in a release, adding all five victims required hospitalization.
“We believe these crimes were targeted and resulted from prior confrontations between the victims and the suspects.”
He later clarified police don’t believe the victims in the Broadway and Oak incident were previously known to the suspect, nor did they have any ties to gangs.
“The weekend before Halloween is always one of the busiest for our officers, and these major incidents stretched our resources thin during a critical time,” Addison said, adding dozens of VPD officers were also deployed throughout the weekend for large protests and events, including at the PNE, at Rogers Arena, and on the Lions Gate Bridge.
In other incidents, a man in his 20s was slashed in the face during an altercation with an unknown group of people near Howe and Nelson Streets early Saturday morning.
The victim was visiting the area from Surrey and had attempted to intervene in a dispute between two strangers when he was injured. He was taken to the hospital for stitches.
Around 5:30 a.m. Saturday, a witness called the police after hearing someone claim to have a gun during an altercation between two groups at a restaurant near Denman and Davie Street.
The suspects left in a taxi, but officers were able to find the cab and arrest the suspects. They also seized two loaded handguns from a man in his 20s.
In another incident, a man in his 20s was walking in Chinatown on Saturday evening when a stranger threatened him with a knife. The victim called police immediately and officers found the suspect, who was attempting to flee on a bike, police said.
However, the bike chain fell off and he was arrested. Police said the man was taken to jail, and charges have been recommended.
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