Police have identified the victim of a fatal stabbing in East Vancouver as 33-year-old Joseph Glen Jandrew.

The attack occurred at around 9:30 p.m. Thursday on Commercial Drive near 1st Avenue.

Firefighters found the victim seriously injured after they responded to calls about a man in medical distress.

He was rushed to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Jandrew lived in Vancouver, but was originally from the Waywayseecappo First Nation in southern Manitoba.

“I just found out about it through Facebook,” David Harris, a Manitoba man who has known the victim for more than a decade, told CTV News in a phone interview Saturday.

“I was sad. He was a good friend, a loving father. I’m going to miss everything about him…especially the good times we had sitting around, drinking tea, having bannock.”

According to Harris, Jandrew has two children—a 12-year-old daughter and a nine-year-old son.

Harris said family and other members of the First Nation are heartbroken over the death.

“He had a good sense of humour. He was kind-hearted, quiet, respectful, shy,” he said. “He was honest. He was just a really good man.”

The nation, Harris said, intends to fly the Jandrew’s body back to Manitoba.

Detectives are still processing evidence and asking for any witnesses to come forward.

They have not identified any suspects.

Anyone with information on the stabbing is asked to call police at 604-717-2500, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

With files from CTV Vancouver’s Breanna Karstens-Smith