Homeless man attacked with rocks at West Vancouver mall, suspect sought: police

West Vancouver police are hoping to track down a suspect after a homeless man was attacked with rocks at Park Royal Shopping Centre early Tuesday morning.

Sgt. Mark McLean said the 55-year-old victim was assaulted in a parking lot outside the mall south of Marine Drive just after 4:30 a.m.

“The victim reported to us that the suspect approached him, began yelling at him and began throwing rocks at him, which resulted in him receiving significant lacerations to his head and his hand,” he said. “The victim in this case, I believe, was just eating at the time … From our perspective, this appears to be a completely random attack.”

Police said the suspect was captured on security camera video, and have released a still image with the hope of identifying the person. They said the suspect is described as a light-skinned male with curly dark hair, who was wearing a black hoodie, black pants, black shoes and a blue hat.

The victim was treated for his injuries.

Nicole Mucci with the Union Gospel Mission said what happened is “heartbreaking.”

“Sadly, violent random attacks against our marginalized community are not altogether surprising anymore,” she said. “All people deserve dignity and safety.”

Mucci said UGM condemns this kind of violence against vulnerable people, which has happened more than once before in Metro Vancouver.

In Vancouver, police are still investigating a case from December 2020 in which a woman who was sleeping outside the Queen Elizabeth Theatre had her blankets set on fire. 

Also, an arrest has yet to be made in an incident from last July in Yaletown, where an elderly homeless man was chased and kicked. 

“They already have been often made to feel like they’re less than human, and to be attacked in this way, this violently, it’s unthinkable,” Mucci said. “This does point to why it’s so important for us to continue advocating for housing, to continue finding supportive housing, to continue making sure that we have enough shelter space if needed.”

Mucci also pointed to a study from 2019, which found people who are homeless are significantly more likely to experience a traumatic brain injury at some point in their life. 

“These traumatic brain injuries are a needless barrier that many of our community members are facing while they’re trying to navigate the really complex systems of trying to exit homelessness,” she said. “We’re really disappointed and sad to hear another person has been hurt.”

McLean said police are looking into a possible connection between the assault and some mischief that occurred in North Vancouver around the same time.

“We are aware of videos and images that are circulating on the internet right now,” he said. “Images associated with that offence appear to be very similar if not the same suspect as ours, so we’re actually, in fact, working very closely with our partners at the North Vancouver RCMP.”

Anyone with information is asked to call West Vancouver Police at 604-925-7300.