18-year-old charged with assault after Yaletown stabbing; victim speaks out

Police in Vancouver say a man has been charged in relation to a stabbing in Yaletown last week that sent one person to hospital. Reporter Cecilia Hua sits down with the victim.

Police in Vancouver say a man has been charged in relation to a stabbing in Yaletown last week that sent one person to hospital and shut down a SkyTrain station for hours.

The incident happened Friday morning, near the Canada Line Yaletown-Roundhouse Station. Police said at the time that the incident happened outside of a condo building near Mainland and Hamilton streets “after a verbal altercation.”

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Const. Tania Visintin said that after the stabbing, the suspects ended up running toward the Yaletown-Roundhouse Station, and the victim chased them.

“Officers were able to locate both the victim and the suspects in that area,” she said.

In a statement to CityNews on Tuesday, the Vancouver Police Department says an 18-year-old has been charged with one count of assault with a weapon and one count of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

According to the BC Prosecution Service, the accused appeared in court the same day as the stabbing, and was released on bail with conditions.

The victim, Jeremy Kim, is now speaking out after the incident. He says he’s lucky to be alive but is frustrated at the justice system.

“If it was any closer to my organs, my heart or stomach, I would’ve been dead,” Kim told CityNews.

“I was stabbed in my left forearm; it went out the other side. I was also stabbed under my armpit, close to my chest, and also one here on the ribs.”

The 32-year-old says he was on the phone with his fiancée and smoking outside his apartment in Yaletown last Friday when he was approached by two strangers.

“I was just minding my own business; the male started coming up to me and filming me with his phone. He kept asking me where I’m from and laughing. I got pretty fed up and told him to get out of my face and swatted his phone away,” Kim said.

“Without any warning, he pulled out a switchblade and started stabbing me. I didn’t realize I’d been stabbed until I looked down and there was blood gushing out of my body.”

Kim says he couldn’t stand the thought of his attackers getting away and chased.

According to the BC Prosecution Service, the 18-year-old man was released on bail by a judge on Friday. Kim says he’s very disappointed by the decision.

“I thought they’d be held at least a bit longer… It makes me think that the justice system here — there needs to be a change, because someone like myself, I’m not safe when these people are just walking around.”

With severe nerve damage to his left hand, combined with the mental trauma, Kim is now on a long journey to recovery.

“You might think it will never happen to you, but I never thought it would happen to me, either, because I’ve been living in Yaletown for close to 10 years,” said Kim. “I think we can all benefit from a criminal justice reform of some kind.”

The BCPS says the accused is expected to appear in court again on Feb. 12.

With files from Anthony Atanasov.

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