The victim of Tuesday’s assault in downtown Courtenay has died.
Family members confirmed the victim’s death in the comments section of an online version of the original Comox Valley Record report.
“I am his sister and he just passed at 4:08 in Victoria General. If anyone has any information please come forward,” Natalie Parker posted Wednesday afternoon, in the comments of a Facebook thread.
“The investigation that began as a serious assault is now a homicide after the victim passed away in hospital yesterday afternoon,” said Const. Monika Terragni, RCMP media relations officer, in an email statement sent out Thursday afternoon.
According to the original police report, Comox Valley RCMP responded to a report of an assault that occurred on the 350-block of 6th Street in Courtenay at approximately 1:25 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 19.
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When officers arrived, they located a 46-year-old man unconscious on the sidewalk. The man was taken to hospital by Emergency Health Services with life-threatening injuries.
“The victim and the suspect were at the Courtenay library shortly before getting into an altercation which resulted in the victim suffering a serious head injury,” said Staff Sgt. Glen Breckon of the Comox Valley RCMP Major Crime Unit.
“This is a busy area in Courtenay and we are looking for witnesses who may have seen the dispute between these two men, a disturbance at the library, or may have video or dashcam footage from around the time of the assault,” he added.
This is not believed to be a random incident and a person of interest has been identified by investigators.
If you have any information, please call the Comox Valley RCMP at (250) 338-1321 and refer to file 2019-17839. Additionally, you can send video footage directly to the Comox Valley RCMP at comoxvalleyrcmp@rcmp-grc.gc.ca and an investigator will follow up.
If you wish to remain anonymous, you can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or online at http://comoxvalleycrimestoppers.bc.ca/.
terry.farrell@blackpress.caLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
