Police have issued a Canada-wide warrant for a man they believe shot 26 transit buses with a BB gun in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside earlier this year.
William Tallio, 43, is charged with 11 counts of mischief and 11 counts of possession of a weapon related to offences that occurred between Jan. 19 and Jan. 29.
In that 10-day period, the Vancouver Police Department says windows on 26 buses were broken while traveling along East Hastings Street. All the buses had passengers on board at the time they were targeted, but no one was ever injured and police say no victims ever came forward during their investigation.
In fact, VPD says damage to the buses often wasn’t even noticed by bus drivers until the ends of their shifts.
“This was a difficult investigation, given the number of buses that were targeted and because none of the crimes were immediately reported,” VPD Sgt. Steve Addison said in a news release. “Investigators worked backwards to pinpoint the exact location where the crimes occurred, to identify the suspect, and to gather evidence linking the suspect to the crimes.”
He said investigators were able to narrow the location of the attacks down to the area of East Hastings Street between Columbia and Carrall streets. They then identified Tallio as a suspect, and the BC Prosecution Service charged him on Aug. 29.
Tallio is now wanted Canada-wide.
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