Vancouver police are asking the public to avoid an area of the Downtown Eastside amid as they investigate “multiple serious assaults” on Thursday.
Police have released few details about the incident, but have closed several blocks of East Hastings Street around Columbia street.
BC Emergency Health Services said it was called about the incident just after 4:30 p.m., and deployed two ambulances.
One patient was transported to hospital. Officials weren’t immediately able to say what condition they were in.
Images from the scene showed numerous stretches of Hastings Street behind police tape, with multiple police vehicles and an ambulance focused on the north side of the street.
A section of Columbia Street north of Hastings was also closed, with numerous evidence markers placed in the road.
Plainclothes officers with long guns were also seen in the area.
Police warned drivers to expect delays and to find alternate routes “until further notice.”