BURST
Vancouver Police say three separate people were assaulted by strangers in unprovoked attacks on Thursday in downtown Vancouver.
Some of these incidents were captured on CCTV footage.
The first incident happened just after 6 a.m. at Victory Square, a park on West Hastings street, when a 73-year-old woman was punched in the eye and pushed to the ground. Police say the woman was in line for a recycling cup program when another woman tried to steal her bags of recycling.
The attacker, described as a white woman in her 30s with shoulder-length dirty-blonde hair with blonde highlights, was wearing a black jacket with a white sweater underneath, black pants, and white shoes. She fled eastbound on West Hastings near Cambie street with one of the victim’s bags of recycling.
The elderly victim was transported to hospital and is in stable condition.
The second incident occurred around 12:30 p.m. near Commercial Drive and Adanac Street, when a 44-year-old man talking on the phone was approached by a man who began making racist remarks. Police say the victim told the other man to leave him alone, but was then elbowed, punched and kicked before witnesses intervened.
The attacker is described as a dark-skinned man between 40-50 years old, approximately five-foot-seven inches tall with a slim build. He was wearing a grey dress shirt, tan pants, white shoes, and a green cross-body bag and last seen walking southbound on Commercial Drive.
The third incident happened around 6:20 p.m. downtown near Burrard and West Georgia, when a 33-year-old pedestrian walking westbound was suddenly struck in the back by a man who’d been walking in the opposite direction. They “briefly exchanged words,” according to police, before the man fled eastbound on West Georgia Street.
The attacker is described as a black man, approximately 5’9″, with short black hair and a black beard. He was wearing a green winter jacket and carrying a black backpack.
VPD is asking anyone who witnessed any of these assaults or has CCTV footage, or can help identify any of the people involved, to contact Vancouver Police at (604) 717-3321.