One man killed, another has hand cut off in violent, unprovoked stranger attacks in Vancouver

One person is dead and another had his hand severed in what police are calling two unprovoked stranger attacks in downtown Vancouver on Wednesday.

Police tape cordoned off two large crime scenes within a block of each other — one outside the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on West Georgia and Hamilton streets and the other a block away on Homer Street and stretching to Holy Rosary Cathedral on Dunsmuir and Richards streets.

A man was arrested near Olympic Village in relation to both attacks which occurred between 7:30 and 8 a.m., said the Vancouver Police Department.

“Attacks like these shake our collective sense of comfort and safety, and we’re grateful that a suspect was quickly taken into custody by our officers, ” said Chief Constable Adam Palmer in a statement.

“Although it will take time before we have all of the answers, it does not appear either victim knew the suspect, and we believe these attacks were completely random.”

Police said officers responded at 7:38 a.m. to the first attack, which occurred at Cathedral Square across from the church.

The victim, a man in his 50s, was attacked with a knife and was bleeding from injuries to his head. He also had his hand severed. He was taken to hospital and is expected to survive, said police.

Eight minutes after the first attack, officers rushed to Queen Elizabeth Theatre at West Georgia and Hamilton streets where another man was attacked. He died at the scene.

Officers were able to obtain images of the suspect and began a search for him.

Shortly after 9 a.m., he was found on Habitat Island near Olympic Village after reports he was acting erratically, including approaching a stranger and yelling at him.

A 34-year-old White Rock man was arrested and taken into custody, said police.

Police remain at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre and the adjoining plaza, where a white tent used by police to protect evidence has been set up on the northwest corner, near the box office.

Eyewitnesses reported seeing a body covered by a tarp under the tent. The victim’s identity and age have not been confirmed by police.

Police tape was also up along Homer Street, one block west, where a large pool of blood was visible in the middle of the sidewalk beside the Canada Post building. About two metres away, a blood-soaked towel or shirt could be seen on the ground.

A bystander who came across the crime scene around 8 a.m. said an employee of a nearby store told him a man had his hand severed.

“He said a guy had his hand cut off. I stopped dead in my tracks and went ‘what?’”

A photo shared with Postmedia showed an injured man squatting on the sidewalk, blood dripping down from his severed left wrist.

Theresa Thompson saw several police cars and heard sirens as she got off the bus on Georgia to get to her job at a Richards Street hostel.

Just before 8 a.m. she saw a man being tended to by paramedics and taken into an ambulance.

“When I saw him being taken on the stretcher, he was wearing a shirt and he looked quite pale and there was blood on his shoulder, in the right side,” she said.

She lives in North Vancouver but works in the area and shops at the new CityMarket at the refurbished Canada Post building and said the incident makes her feel less safe.

“I thought maybe someone had fallen on the floor, I didn’t think it would be a crime,” she said.

Blood was also visible along Homer Street to the Holy Rosary Cathedral where a small amount of fresh blood stained the stone steps leading to the front doors. Plainclothes detectives could be seen on the landing peering in the corner near the doors.

In an X post, B.C.’s Solicitor General Mike Farnworth said resources are available to VPD investigators.

Mayor Ken Sim is expected to hold a news conference at 1 p.m. Wednesday.

The incident has left people who live and work in the neighbourhood shaken.

Natalie Minarchenko, who lives nearby in Yaletown, said downtown Vancouver has become less safe and the incident was disturbing.

“Everyday something happens and you don’t want to go out alone,” she said.

More to come …

With files from Patrick Johnston

Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add VancouverSun.com and TheProvince.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.

You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber: For just $14 a month, you can get unlimited access to The Vancouver Sun, The Province, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun | The Province.