SURREY Police Service (SPS) on Monday issued an appeal for the public’s assistance with identifying and locating the suspect in Sunday’s unprovoked stranger assaults in Surrey that sent one person to hospital with injuries.

Shortly before 11:30 a.m. on February 9, frontline officers were called to a report of an assault in progress at a business in the 6400-block of 120 Street. Officers found two men had been assaulted, one physically and the other with a weapon. The suspect had left the scene.

Both victims were at the business when the suspect began to physically assault one of them, a staff member at the business. When the other victim, who was a bystander, intervened, he was assaulted with a weapon, believed to be knife.

The staff member was treated on scene by BCEHS and the bystander was taken to hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. That victim has undergone surgery and is recovering in hospital.

The suspect was last seen leaving the scene eastbound on 64 Avenue towards 121 Street. He was described as a South Asian man with a heavy build, approximately 30 years old and 6’1” tall, with black hair. He was wearing a light-coloured, possibly light purple, hoodie, beige pants, and white shoes and was possibly in possession of a knife.

Officers searched the area for the suspect, who was not known to the victims, but were unable to locate him.

Detectives from SPS’s Serious Crime Team have taken over to lead the investigation.

“This was an unprovoked incident of random violence, and we are concerned that the suspect may assault someone else,” said Staff-Sgt. Lindsey Houghton, Surrey Police Service Media Relations Officer.

“Someone in the community knows who the suspect in this stranger attack is and we are urging them to come forward and contact police as soon as possible.”

SPS is requesting anyone with information on the suspect, or anyone who was in the area at the time of the assaults and who may have photo, video, or dash cam footage of the assaults or suspect, to call Surrey Police Service at 604-599-0502 and quote file 2025-11329 (SP), or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or www.solvecrime.ca if they wish to remain anonymous. If you see the suspect, do not approach him, and call 9-1-1.