VPD arrests suspect in Granville SkyTrain assault

Vancouver Police have arrested a suspect for the assault of a 61-year-old man at the Granville SkyTrain Station, just one day after releasing graphic video of the victim being shoved down a flight of stairs.

"More than 80,000 people viewed and shared this video on social media in the first 24 hours after it was released by Vancouver Police on Friday," says Constable Tania Visintin. "Late Saturday afternoon, an astute citizen who had seen the video on Instagram spotted the suspect walking near Granville and Georgia streets, and called 9-1-1.

Thanks to that citizen, Vancouver Police arrested a 53-year-old man for the March 1 assault, which occurred around 5:30 p.m. inside the Granville Street SkyTrain Station. VPD investigators now believe the victim and suspect had a brief verbal confrontation outside the station, and that the suspect followed the victim into the station, pushed him down a set of stairs, kicked him, and fled before police were called.

"We had no doubt help from the public would be instrumental in solving this case, as it has with so many other high profile attacks in the downtown core," adds Constable Visintin. "We understand how shocking this video was for some, and we are extremely grateful for the amount of views and shares this video had. Those shares on social media helped us make another quick arrest in an unsolved attack."

The suspect cannot be named as he has not yet been formally charged.