Yaletown fatal stabbing believed to be stranger attack: Vancouver police

A woman has been charged in connection with a stabbing in Vancouver on July 11 that left a 29-year-old man dead.

Vancouver police say Lindsay Scott, 34, was arrested Sunday after a week-long investigation. The VPD notes there has been “no evidence to suggest the victim and accused knew each other.”

“We believe they were strangers,” Sgt. Steve Addison said.

Justin Mohrmann was stabbed in the area of Smithe and Homer Streets while he was walking in the area at around 8:30 a.m.

Addison says a motive is not yet clear.

“We’re still investigating all of the circumstances. We still think there’s people out there who have information that could come forward that might be able to determine that. At this time, whether there’s a specific motive is not something that I can speak to. That is likely to form part of the criminal proceedings that take place now that there have been charges laid,” he explained.

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Police say they identified the suspect, Lindsay Scott, after witnesses called 9-1-1. She remains in custody.

Scott has been charged with one count of second-degree murder.

The fatal stabbing came as the VPD continues to sound the alarm over what it has called an increase in stranger attacks in the city.

“We hear community concerns. There has been a lot of discussion in the community about violence, about stranger assaults, about street violence. It’s a concern that we share. We’re doing everything that we can to address it, everything from adjusting patrol officers and doing targeted patrols, to working behind the scenes through our investigative teams, to conducting information sessions,” Addison said, adding the VPD was also working with various agencies and governments to address root causes.

“We agree that concerns that people have are legitimate and we take them very seriously.”

VPD, public concerns 

When asked whether people should be concerned about their safety, Addison said it’s all relative to the individual.

However, he noted that “if one person feels unsafe, if one person feels scared, if one person feels that they need to change their routine because of the actions of somebody else, that’s a problem.”

“We always tell people you should not need to change your behaviour. You should be able to move around this city freely and safely without having to look over your shoulder and without fearing that somebody’s going to hurt you or make you feel unsafe. We’ll never tell people to change their routines or change their behaviours because of the actions of somebody else,” Addison explained, noting there is more work to do.

The VPD is asking anyone with information about the incident to get in touch with them. They’re also looking to speak with anyone who may have seen or spoken with Mohrmann before the stabbing, as well as anyone with information about Scott’s movements before the incident.

Meanwhile, Vancouver City Councillor Lisa Dominato is calling on the provincial government to be more responsive, and acknowledge that people have “fears, they have concerns.”

Wondering if the incident was indeed a “stranger attack,” she said she is deeply troubled by the turn of events.

Dominato told CityNews she wants the province to ensure repeat violent offenders are kept off the streets.

“We need to see the province step up and deal more with prolific violent offenders, and how they’re ricocheting in this system,” she said.