A woman was killed and six people were injured on Saturday March 27 in Vancouver, western Canada, after being stabbed for an unknown reason by a man who was quickly arrested. The attack took place in a shocked, upper-middle-class neighborhood in the north of the city on the Pacific Rim.
Six people who were stabbed were hospitalized following the attack in the early afternoon near the Lynn Valley Public Library, in a rather upscale area of north Vancouver. “We have a victim who unfortunately succumbed to his injuries, this victim is a woman”, Vancouver Criminal Police Sergeant Frank Jang said at a press briefing. The police then clarified that the latter was not among the six people hospitalized, which brings the provisional toll to one dead and six injured.
The suspect is a man known to law enforcement and has a criminal record, said Sgt. Jang. Investigators believe he acted alone, but say they ignore his motives. They had not yet interviewed the alleged perpetrator in the early evening, and have not revealed his identity. “We believe we have the only suspect in custody, commented Mr. Jang. We think we know who did what, where and when, so our job now is to figure out why. “
“He was acting at random”
“The least we can say is that it’s absolutely shocking, said Sergeant Jang. For everyone, including the police themselves. “ According to statements from Justin Prasad, who works in front of the library, the alleged perpetrator appeared to be stabbing random people. “It was a little unreal, he added, joined by Agence France-Presse. After he stabbed the people near the library it was chaos, I saw him face to face with the police, then he ran away, the police chased him, cornered him and tackled him to the ground. “
The CTV channel broadcast on its website on Saturday evening a video presented as showing the arrest of the suspect, who appears to stab himself in the leg before collapsing and being arrested by several police officers. Sergeant Jang called for witnesses and asked the authors of the images to pass them on to investigators rather than posting them on social media.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and several members of the government reacted immediately on Twitter. “My thoughts are with North Vancouver tonight, commented the head of government. To all of those affected by the violent incident in Lynn Valley, know that all Canadians are thinking of you and wish those injured a speedy recovery. “
My thoughts are with North Vancouver tonight. To all those affected by the violent incident that occurred… https://t.co/2am74LvE1V
Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said to himself “Shocked and saddened” by a “Senseless act of violence”.