Vancouver police are redeploying officers and stepping up patrols in the city’s troubled Downtown Eastside neighbourhood after two men were injured in gun violence over the past week.
“The number of guns currently in the Downtown Eastside is alarming,” said VPD Sgt. Steve Addison in a news release. “We’re worried for the safety of people who live and work in the area.”
Police said the decision came after a 24-year-old man was shot and injured around 5 a.m. Thursday morning while riding his bike on East Hastings Street. Police said the man was able to make his way home before calling 9-1-1. No motive was given for the attack.
The attack followed a brazen daylight shooting Sunday afternoon in which a 31-year-old man was shot repeatedly on East Hastings Street. The suspect fled, but was captured a short time later. Both victims are expected to recover.
“Residents of the Downtown Eastside already face so many hardships, and they shouldn’t have to worry that someone with a gun, a machete, or bear spray is going to make their lives more difficult,” Addison said.
“Our only goal by adding more officers is to restore a sense of safety in the community and to target the law-breakers who are putting people at risk.”
Police reported seizing 14 real and replica firearms over four days this week in the Downtown Eastside.
“Besides putting extra officers on the street,” Addison said, “our organized crime experts and major crime investigators are working to determine why we’re seeing such an increase in guns in the area.”
Officers will be redeployed from a quick-response unit that normally moves around Vancouver. In addition to the Downtown Eastside, those officers will increase patrols in Chinatown and Gastown.