Man who stabbed stranger at Vancouver Tim Hortons released to halfway house: police

Vancouver police are warning the public that a man convicted in the random stabbing of a stranger at a downtown Tim Hortons in 2022 will once again be living at a halfway house in the city.

David Richard Morin was arrested on a Canada-wide warrant last month for breaching the conditions of his release. On Tuesday, he was re-released, the Vancouver Police Department said in a statement.

"VPD believes compelling reasons exist to warn the public that he poses a high risk of significant harm to the community," spokesperson Sgt. Steve Addison said.

Morin pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years for aggravated assault in the unprovoked attack on a Mexican tourist. He was released in June of 2024 after serving two-thirds of that time behind bars, prompting a similar warning from authorities.

Morin was 27 in January of 2022 when the violent assault at the Tim Hortons was caught on the coffee shop’s surveillance cameras.

At the time, authorities said the attack happened "completely without warning," and that the assailant and his victim didn't know each other and had minimal interaction before the stabbing.

The victim was rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries, but he survived.

The conditions of Morin's release include having no contact with the victim and no contact with anyone associated with criminal activity. He is also not allowed to purchase or consume drugs or and alcohol and forbidden from possessing weapons. Any relationship with a woman – sexual or otherwise – must be reported to his parole supervisor.

Morin will be bound by those conditions until June of 2025.

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Ian Holliday.