VANCOUVER Police arrested a 30-year-old man Tuesday morning, after he allegedly attacked three strangers during a violent crime spree in the downtown core.

“Patrol officers began receiving reports around 8:30 p.m. on Monday about a man with a knife who was moving around the downtown core and the West End,” said Sgt. Steve Addison. “Patrol officers flooded the area and located several people who had been assaulted and were in distress.”

VPD investigators believe the suspect first approached a 21-year-old man near Emery Barnes Park and asked to borrow the man’s vape pen. When the man refused, the suspect allegedly pulled out a knife and tried to stab him.

Police believe the suspect then walked to a restaurant on Davie Street, where he stabbed a 65-year-old man in the face, before attacking a 25-year-old woman on Hornby Street. Both were taken to hospital for treatment of non-fatal injuries.

“VPD identified a suspect after collecting a significant amount of evidence from the crime scenes,” said Addison.

Just before 3 a.m. on Tuesday, officers located and arrested the suspect at an apartment building in Mount Pleasant.

The man is currently in custody.

The incidents were among a series of violent crimes reported to VPD on  Monday night. VPD is also investigating after a man was stabbed in the chest in the Downtown Eastside, and after a man showed up at hospital with stab wounds to his shoulder. Those incidents are not, at this time, believed to be linked to the downtown crime spree.