A Vancouver Police officer is pictured in Vancouver, on Dec. 4, 2024. The Canadian Press/Ethan Cairns
Vancouver police have arrested one suspect and are searching for two others following three “unprovoked” assaults on strangers in a single day.
The Vancouver Police Department said on its website on Oct. 16 that it had arrested a 33-year-old Vancouver woman in connection with an assault on a 73-year-old woman on Oct. 15. The victim was waiting in line for a recycling cup program when a woman approached and tried to steal bags containing the victim’s recyclable cups.
Police said the attacker punched the woman in the eye and pushed her to the ground when she tried to stop the theft, then fled with one of the bags. The victim was taken to hospital in stable condition.
After releasing surveillance video to help identify the suspect, the department said a city employee contacted police and said they recognized the suspect in the video. This led police to arrest the woman and later release her on an undertaking to appear at a future court appearance.
In a second incident, a 44-year-old man was talking on his phone when another man approached him and began making racist remarks shortly after noon on Oct. 15, the police agency said.
“After the victim told the suspect to leave him alone, the [suspect] elbowed him in the chin before punching and kicking him,” the department noted.
The assault ended when witnesses intervened, while the suspect was last seen walking southbound.
Police described the suspect as a dark-skinned man between 40 and 50 years of age, roughly 5 feet, 7 inches tall, with a slim build. He was wearing a grey dress shirt, tan pants, white shoes, and a green cross-body bag.
In the third incident, the 33-year-old victim was headed west when a man walking in the opposite direction suddenly struck him on his back around 6:20 p.m., the police agency said. They briefly exchanged words before the suspect fled eastbound.
The department described the suspect as a black man, roughly 5 feet, 9 inches tall, with short black hair and a black beard. Police say he was wearing a green winter jacket and carrying a black backpack.
The department said it was releasing surveillance footage from all three incidents, hoping anyone who witnessed the situations could provide extra information.
