Assault victim dies of injuries, becoming Vancouver's 7th homicide of the year

A police cruiser is parked outside a Vancouver courthouse on Tuesday, May 26, 2021.

A 56-year-old man is dead and a 61-year-old man has been arrested in Vancouver's seventh homicide of the year.

The incident began as a call about an assault near the intersection of East First Avenue and Main Street on June 2, the Vancouver Police Department said in a news release Wednesday.

Officers were called to the scene around 4:30 p.m. that day and the victim, 56-year-old Scott Carver, was taken to hospital, according to the VPD.

Carver died in hospital from his injuries, police said.

Investigators arrested a 61-year-old suspect, police said, adding that they believe the victim and the suspect knew each other.

In an email to CTV News, the VPD clarified that Carver died on June 14, almost two weeks after the initial assault. The suspect was arrested Wednesday, according to police.

The incident that led to Carver's death happened a little more than a month after another homicide just two blocks away.

That incident occurred in the early hours of May 1, when police responded to a "disturbance" reported inside a building near the intersection of Ontario Street and First Avenue. 

Jian Ying "Angela" Du, 51, was identified as the victim in that case – Vancouver's third homicide of the year. Police arrested a man at the scene.

There is no connection between Du's death and Carver's, police said Wednesday. 

Anyone who has information about the case is asked to call the department's Major Crime Section at 604-717-2500.