Suspect charged following string of 'unprovoked attacks' on 5 women in Vancouver
Police in Vancouver say a suspect has been charged with multiple offences in connection to a string of unprovoked attacks that took place over a 40-minute period Saturday.
In an update Monday on the weekend's incidents, the Vancouver Police Department said 38-year-old Cole Stanley Martin appeared in court and was charged with several offences. Those charges included two counts of assault with a weapon, one count of assault, one count of assaulting a police officer, three counts of uttering threats and one count of break and enter.
The attacks all took place in Vancouver's Fairview neighbourhood Saturday afternoon, police said.
"We believe we have five victims right now, but if there’s any one else that was a victim of this, please come forward and call our investigators," Const. Tania Visintin said in an earlier news release.
"These were unprovoked attacks. They would have been terrifying for these victims. Absolutely terrifying."
Calls about the incidents began coming in around noon on Saturday, police said. The callers reported a man, "possibly in psychosis," who was "smashing glass and destroying property" near the intersection of Oak Street and West Broadway, according to police.
“The suspect allegedly approached a 40-year-old woman in her car,” Visintin said. “He banged on her car, jumped on her car and made shooting gestures at her. And when she drove away this suspect allegedly chased her down the street.”
About 30 minutes later, police said, the suspect allegedly chased joggers, smashing the front door of an apartment building in which they had taken refuge.
The suspect also reportedly approached a woman who was walking on Oak Street, grabbed her by the hair and punched her. The 25-year-old victim broke free and fled to a nearby building with the help of a bystander, according to the VPD.
The suspect then allegedly pursued people through the building's hallways and stairwells, threatening them and brandishing a piece of broken glass.
Police said Sunday that a man was arrested shortly after the incidents near Oak Street and West 10th Avenue.
Anyone who has not yet spoken to police and has information or dash cam video from the area should contact investigators at 604-717-4021.
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Ian Holliday and Ben Miljure
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