Multiple stabbings at Vancouver’s Crab Park encampment; violent crimes around Downtown Eastside

A suspect is in custody, multiple people are injured, and Vancouver Police say they are searching for victims after what witnesses described as a stabbing spree at the Crab Park homeless encampment early Saturday morning.

VPD officers were patrolling near the waterfront around 3 a.m. when two victims fled the park and approached police for help. Around that same time, a 9-1-1 caller from inside the park reported a man stabbing random people at the homeless encampment.

As victims and bystanders fled, police officers converged on Crab Park, locating a third badly-injured victim within the encampment and arresting the 42-year-old suspect as he attempted to leave the area.

Three victims – a man in his 30s, a man in his 40s, and an unidentified man – suffered various serious injuries, including stab wounds and punctured organs. Police believe there may be additional victims who fled, and encourage anyone with injuries to seek medical help, then call police.

The suspect was arrested for attempted murder and remains in custody.

On Friday night, there was a series of violent crimes around the Downtown Eastside, including an altercation near East Hastings and Campbell Avenue that left an 18-year-old man with serious injuries, and a stabbing near West Hastings and Cambie Street that left a 48-year-old man with life-threatening injuries.

Anyone with information about any of these incidents is asked to call the Vancouver Police Department’s Major Crime Section at 604-717-2541.