A schoolyard shooting seemingly committed at random, a public murder in broad daylight and a startling sexual assault are just some of the crimes being investigated by Vancouver police following a weekend plagued by violence.

Const. Randy Fincham said the slew of incidents, none of which appear to be related, started late Friday night and continued through Sunday, putting a strain on police resources.

“We had a busy weekend,” Fincham told reporters at a press conference Monday. “I would say extremely busy.”

And despite officers’ efforts responding to each of the violent crimes, police have so far been unable to locate and arrest any suspects.

Stranger sex assault

The first incident reported was the sex assault, which was committed around 11 p.m. Friday near Oak Street and West 48th Avenue. The victim, a 21-year-old woman, was attacked from behind by a stranger, but managed to fight him off and send him fleeing the area on foot.

“She wasn’t physically injured, but obviously she was very traumatized by what happened to her,” Fincham said.

Unfortunately, the victim was only able to give a brief description of someone 5’9” to 5’10” tall with a medium build. Though there’s no apparent connection to the other weekend crimes, investigators are trying to determine potential links to two other sex assaults committed in the same area on Feb. 13 and 26.

Given the number of gropings and violent sex assaults reported in the city over the last two months, police warned the public Monday to be cautious and aware of their surroundings.

Fincham also issued a different warning to the people responsible: “We have a lot of police resources in this, we are looking for you, we will find you.”

Schoolyard shooting

The next crime was reported hours later, around 1 a.m. Saturday morning, when a 21-year-old man was shot outside Sexsmith Elementary School on Columbia Street.

Police said he was with a group of men who were confronted by two young strangers, one of whom had a gun and opened fire in their direction.

The victim, who suffered a non-life threatening gunshot wound, has no police record, and there’s no apparent gang connection or motive in the attack.

“This appears to be a completely random event,” Fincham said.

East Vancouver stabbing

Around 12 hours later, a man was confronted by two people in their 20s who slashed him, leaving him hospitalized and in critical condition.

The victim, believed to be someone who collects empty beverage containers, was approached near Eton and Nanaimo streets by a pair of men with no apparent connection to him.

“We do believe at this point that he was attacked by strangers,” Fincham said.

Police have yet to release suspect descriptions or confirm what weapon or weapons were used in the attack.

Arson forces evacuations

Then, at around 4 a.m. Sunday, an off-duty police officer spotted a blaze at the Villa Carital senior’s home on South Grandview Highway and Penticton Street.

Dozens of residents were forced to flee their homes, including three who were treated for smoke inhalation.

On Monday, police revealed that arson is the suspected cause.

The fire is believed to have been sparked intentionally at an outbuilding, possibly some kind of kitchen, before spreading to the residential complex.

“Our investigation will focus on how that fire started, and who could have possibly done this, and why they would have done this adjacent to a care facility,” Fincham said.

Flames made it all the way to the roof of the main building, but didn’t directly damage any of the suites.

Public murder

The last and most serious of the violent crimes took place Sunday afternoon at the busy intersection of Main and Hastings streets, where officers broke up a brawl and found a 38-year-old man fatally wounded.

The victim, who had been stabbed, was rushed to hospital but died shortly after.

Fincham said the man is a local who was known to police, and investigators believe the incident was targeted.

No suspects have been arrested but police said they still have a number of witnesses to interview.

The death marks Vancouver’s second homicide of 2016.