Bystander effect: psychology expert weighs in on Vancouver stabbing

Paul Schmidt’s mother says she does not understand why no one stepped in when her son was stabbed outside a Vancouver Starbucks on Sunday afternoon.

But one psychology professor says that in 90 per cent of situations, people do step in, and that makes this case particularly concerning.

The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) says it is aware of video footage of the victim’s final moments circulating online – which CityNews has chosen not to share or broadcast.

The video shows someone sitting in a corner drinking coffee as the incident unfolds, and the person shooting the video is solely focused on shooting the video. Viewers online have questioned why no one stopped and stepped in to help Schmidt.

UBC psychology professor Azim Shariff says the bystander effect shows that the more people present in a situation, the less likely any individual will step in to help.

“I would have predicted that more would have been done. But like I said, it’s hard to imagine how any individual would act in a situation like that,” he said.

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• Stabbing at Vancouver Starbucks leaves one man dead

• Mother of Vancouver stabbing victim devastated: ‘Nobody … called for help’

“The things which explain why the bystander effect occurs – one – is it’s a diffusion of responsibility. Everybody thinks that somebody else will do something. And two, it’s the ambiguity of the situation. Nobody’s sure exactly what they’re supposed to do. So, they look around and see what other people are doing as a cue of what they’re supposed to do,” he explained. “I would love to hear from the police what one is supposed to do, especially as we’ve shifted into a more violent city than we used to be.”

In a statement to CityNews, VPD Const. Tania Visintin says in part “It’s generally not our place to provide social commentary or pass judgement on what people choose to share online, however, we encourage anyone with video or eyewitness evidence about this murder to contact our investigators …People react differently to traumatic events. We always encourage anyone who sees a crime or anyone who is a victim of a crime to call 911.”

“It’s graphic video. We are encouraging people not to share that video. We are encouraging people if you’ve got video if you’re a bystander or if you’re a witness, please come forward and speak to our investigators,” said VPD’s Sgt. Steve Addison.

Kathy Schmidt tells CityNews she’s trying to comprehend what happened to her son.

“I’m just incredibly surprised that nobody from inside the Starbucks called for help. Nobody outside called for help. It wasn’t until, basically, he was in dire straits,” she said.

Shariff says – in 90 per cent of situations – one or more people will step in, and there’s a long history of research showing that people will even put themselves at risk to help others.

“It’s heartening in general, but it makes it more disappointing about what happened here – that nobody did. Except for, I guess, the one guy who flagged down the police officer, we can’t forget that person,” he said.

At the Starbucks on the corner of West Pender Street where Paul Schmidt was killed, people stopped Tuesday afternoon to look at flowers honouring his life on a nearby tree.

“I don’t know… It’s insane. Especially here. This seems like a really nice area.” one person said.

On Monday, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said over Twitter “no one should feel unsafe walking around our city” and urged people not to share videos of Schmidt’s death on social media.