Vancouver Yaletown swarming attack caught on video
Posted February 25, 2022 11:50 am.
Editor’s note: This article contains video footage of a violent attack and may be disturbing.
Disturbing video of a man being swarmed and beaten in Vancouver’s Yaletown neighbourhood over the weekend has been released, with police hoping someone will be able to identify one of the people responsible for the attack.
The assault happened at about 11:30 p.m. Sunday at Emery Barnes Park near Davie and Richards streets and left a man seriously hurt.
“The graphic bystander video shows a large group watching and filming as two men punched and kicked a defenseless man,” said Const. Tania Visintin with the VPD.
The incident was recorded by a bystander who turned the video into police shortly after it happened.
Vancouver police say by the time officers arrived, both the suspects and victim had left, though one man was arrested on Granville Street. Police say the 19-year-old from Richmond has been released from custody.
There’s no word on any charges.
The VPD says the victim was later found at his home after someone called 9-1-1 on his behalf. The 44-year-old Vancouver man was hospitalized with “significant facial injuries.”
Visintin admits the video is “troubling” to watch, but police are sharing it in the hopes someone can identify a second man in the video.
“The park is surrounded by high-rise towers and it’s part of a heavily populated area,” Visintin said. “There must be people who either saw this swarming, were there when it happened, or recognize the people in the video.”
The suspect is described as a man in his 20s who is about 5’9″ tall and 160lbs. He was wearing a red hoodie, black pants, and black runners. The suspect was also carrying a black satchel.
If you have any information, you’re asked to call Vancouver police at 604-717-2541.
