Vancouver Police are investigating after a homeless man was shot in the knee with a crossbow in the city’s downtown eastside last night (Sept. 23).
The bolt was shot from the fire escape of an apartment building and struck the victim just below the knee cap. According to the VPD, the 22-year-old victim was standing in front of the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre at Columbia Street and East Cordova when he was shot. The victim then walked a block to a nearby Insite facility where staff administered first aid and phoned 9-1-1.
“This level of callousness and disregard is shocking,” VPD Sgt. Steve Addison said. “All signs point to this being a random attack, and we’re incredibly concerned because the victim was already one of our community’s most vulnerable.”
Officers later recovered a cache of real and imitation weapons from the building that included crossbows, replica assault rifles, scopes, lights and lasers. The suspect fled the building before police arrived.
The attack comes weeks after the VPD shared video of a homeless man being assaulted in Vancouver’s Yaletown neighbourhood, as well as an increase in stranger assaults and sexual assaults in Vancouver.
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