Vancouver police have recommended a charge of manslaughter against a suspect in a deadly altercation outside a local nightclub over the summer.
On Aug. 11, a 60-year-old man was punched and knocked to the ground by another man outside Shenanigans Nightclub on Robson Street.
He was taken to hospital but left after refusing treatment.
Later that evening, he was found unresponsive on the floor of his West End apartment and died after being rushed to hospital.
It’s believed the man suffered a serious brain bleed.
VPD investigators have now recommended a charge of manslaughter against a 26-year-old Vancouver man.
The attack is just one of many so-called “one-punch” attacks to happen in Vancouver this year.
On Oct. 25, a man was sucker-punched while walking with his wife downtown – and suffered permanent life-altering injuries as a result.
The victim hit his head on his way to the ground and suffered a serious brain injury. Police said he has since undergone surgery to relieve pressure in his head, and had a portion of his brain tissue removed.
Const. Brian Montague said there have been around 10 “one-punch” attacks in the city this year, three of which have been fatal.
The “one-punch” attacks haven’t been limited to one area of the city, he adds, and have been reported in the Granville Entertainment District, Gastown, and the West End.
The common factor in all of them appears to be alcohol.
“This could happen to you or me walking down the street. There is that possibility,” Montague told reporters Thursday. “We do have individuals that come into the city that are looking for trouble, that are looking to get into fights, and unfortunately this is the result sometimes.”
This is Vancouver’s 15th homicide of the year.
