Vancouver Police stretched thin during violent weekend

Vancouver Police were kept busy during the weekend, with a series of shootings, stabbings, and other major crimes that sent several people to hospital with serious injuries.

"Our front-line officers and specially-trained detectives have been going full tilt since Friday in an effort to stem the violence and make headway on these cases," says Sergeant Steve Addison, VPD. "Dozens of police officers have been assigned to these investigations. We’re doing everything we can to solve them and to prevent more violence."

More than 30 officers were already investigating the case of a 76-year-old woman who was violently sexually assaulted when the spate of violence started Friday night and continued through the weekend. By Monday morning, VPD officers had responded to several serious stabbings and two shootings, along with a number of other serious crimes.

Cases of note:

A 26-year-old man was stabbed steps away from Pigeon Park, in the Downtown Eastside, around 6:30 p.m. Friday night. It was the second day in a row he had been stabbed, and he had been released from hospital only a few hours earlier. The man suffered a lacerated kidney and internal bleeding, but is expected to live.

A woman walked up to the police station at Main and East Cordova Street just before 10 p.m. Friday after being stabbed in the abdomen, hip, and buttocks. After she received medical attention, officers followed a blood trail from the victim for more than a block. Investigators believe the victim may have been lured into a lane by a man and woman she knew, and was then assaulted. The victim’s injuries are not life-threatening and the investigation is ongoing.

Officers responded to a social-housing complex in the Downtown Eastside around 1:30 a.m. Sunday, after a 21-year-old woman was stabbed in the chest and a 33-year-old man was stabbed in the arm. VPD officers found the victims outside on the sidewalk, and later located a crime scene inside the building. While investigating the stabbing, officers heard a gunshot ring out from a room on the fourth floor. VPD’s Emergency Response Team was called in to assist, and arrested the shooting suspect after he allegedly exited the room while holding a sharp object. Both stabbing victims were taken to hospital and are expected to survive.

The Emergency Response Team was also dispatched to a highrise near Burrard and Georgia Streets after shots were fired by a person in the building Sunday morning. Investigators zeroed in on an apartment linked to a known gang member and arrested three people, including the alleged shooter. A 23-year-old man was taken to jail and faces charges. The investigation is ongoing, with members of VPD’s Major Crime Section, Patrol Division and Organized Crime Section on the case. Nobody was seriously injured during the shooting.

In addition to these major incidents, VPD officers also monitored a number protests during the weekend and launched dozens of other investigations related to missing persons cases, assaults, and traffic collisions.

"Although our officers were stretched thin this weekend, we still encourage anyone who sees a crime or needs police assistance to call us right away," adds Sergeant Addison. "If there’s crime happening in your neighbourhood or you feel unsafe, we need to know about it so we can help."