It’s just two days into the new year and Vancouver police are already investigating the city’s first murder of 2019 after a man in his 30s died Tuesday night following an alleged assault in the Downtown Eastside.
Police tape/Shutterstock
Just after 8 p.m. on New Year’s Day officers were called to an assault inside an apartment on Powell Street near Gore and found a man in medical distress in his suite. He died at the scene.
Homicide detectives have identified the victim as 39-year-old Vancouver resident Matthew Dillen Johnson.
No arrests have been made and investigators continue to collect evidence to determine what led to Johnson’s death and who is responsible.
“Based on the initial investigation, detectives do not believe the public is at risk,” media relations officer Const. Jason Doucette said in a press release.
Anyone with information about this homicide is asked to call police at 604-717-2500 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
