Leslie Dale Chudek, 61, charged in East Vancouver gas station stabbing (follow-up)

LESLIE Dale Chudek, 61, has been criminally charged following several seemingly random and unprovoked attacks at an East Vancouver gas station on Wednesday morning, Vancouver Police announced on Thursday.

Several 9-1-1 callers reported a man hit a pedestrian with his vehicle at the Esso station near Hastings and Skeena just before 6:30 a.m. It is alleged the same man chased several people while holding a knife and a machete, punched another man, then went back to the pedestrian and stabbed him on the neck and back.

The stabbing victim was taken to hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. The man who was punched was treated on scene.

Chudek has been charged by the BC Prosecution Service with one count each of aggravated assault, assault, uttering threats, and operating a conveyance in a manner dangerous to the public.

He remains in custody until his next court appearance.

Constable Tania Visintin had said on Wednesday: “We don’t know if there was a motive for this attack, and the fact that it appears random and unprovoked is extremely concerning. The victims and the suspect did not know each other, and did not appear to have any significant interactions before the attack.”

She also said: “Before this incident, around 1:30 a.m., a man was seen driving the same vehicle erratically, and he fled from police in several Metro Vancouver cities. When the car was boxed in by police, the driver allegedly rammed into the police vehicle and fled again.”

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