A suspect is in custody and a woman is in hospital with serious injuries after being stabbed seemingly at random in a 7-Eleven early Sunday.
Vancouver police said the 30-year-old woman was violently attacked at around 5:30 a.m. in a 7-Eleven at Denman and Comox Street, suffering multiple stab wounds.
The 39-year-old suspect was wrestled to the ground by witnesses and held until police arrived, Sgt. Randy Fincham said.
“I got woken up by the screaming,” said nearby resident Michael O’Rafferty. “When I got out here she was on the ground and the police were attending to her.”
He said he saw two men in the 7-Eleven holding another man down until police came.
“I think he was one of the homeless guys who hangs around here,” he said.
Sunday’s attack is just the latest in a string of incidents that have taken place in Vancouver’s downtown peninsula, causing concern for residents who say the area is densely populated and as a result, usually safe.
"It's probably safer to walk downtown in the West End than it is to walk in Langley because there's people around watching all the time,” resident Giulia Nystrom said.
“So something like this in our neighbourhood takes us all by crazy surprise.”
A Barclay Street apartment building several blocks away from the 7-Eleven was the scene of a brutal hammer attack in January.
French national Jerome Bonneric is accused of going on a rampage, randomly attacking seven people.
Last week a Surrey man allegedly stabbed or slashed three people on the edge of Chinatown, again, at random with no clear motive.
Vancouver police said Sunday’s attack could have been worse if staff and customers of the 7-Eleven didn’t intervene.
They said a motive for the attack is unclear, but it appeared to be at random since the man and woman didn’t know each other.
The suspect, who is known to police, is in custody awaiting his first court appearance Monday. No charges have been laid.
With a report from CTV British Columbia’s Penny Daflos
