Vancouver senior fends off nude home intruder with a shovel: VPD

Vancouver police say a 72-year-old woman used a shovel to fend off a naked man who allegedly broke into her house with a pointed metal rod.

The VPD says it happened just before 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 19, in the area of Cambie Street and West 41st Avenue.

Const. Tania Visintin says the man was swinging the rod at the woman throughout the encounter.

“She got a shovel that was nearby to protect herself and basically chased him out of the house and cornered him until officers arrived,” she said.

“Thankfully, some astute neighbours heard the commotion. They called 911. We arrived. We were able to arrest him, take him to jail, and charges have been approved.”

Visintin says the VPD doesn’t recommend people go toe-to-toe with potentially violent criminals, but she is applauding the woman’s actions in this case.

“We never recommend that, but we’re not going to stop someone from protecting their home. At that point, she was probably thinking she needed to fight for her life. Kudos to her, it was pretty badass of her, I would say,” Visintin said.

“But we always encourage people to call 911 if there’s something going on,” she added. “Get yourself to a place of safety, lock yourself in a room and call 911. In this case, thankfully, she came out unharmed. She protected herself and her home — that’s pretty awesome.”

Visintin says police are still working to determine a motive, but given the circumstances, she believes mental health played a role.

Nobody was physically injured during the incident.