A seemingly random home invasion in East Vancouver early Tuesday morning resulted in a 27-year-old man being stabbed as he slept.
Vancouver Police Department spokesperson Staff Sgt. Randy Fincham said Tuesday afternoon the victim has since been released from hospital, while the 19-year-old suspect is in police custody with charges pending.
The suspect who was apprehended near Garden Drive and Triumph Streetwith the assistance of a K-9 unit at 2 a.m., roughly 45 minutes after the incident took place.
“This 27-year-old man, who was sleeping at the time, woke up to someone actually stabbing him,” Fincham said. “Obviously very frightening for anyone to wake up to a situation like that. Very traumatic.”
The stabbing took place in a home on Ferndale Street near Lakewood Drive, and an undisclosed number of occupants lived in the home. There is nothing to link the suspect, victim and other occupants of the home.
“Somebody was singled out and obviously targeted,” Fincham said. “We don’t know at this point why this home was targeted.”
A possible motive was not disclosed, nor was the method of entry into the home. Fincham didn’t say if anything was stolen either, or where the victim was stabbed. He characterized the scene as “very gruesome” when officers showed up.
Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a suspect who was seen “prowling cars” in the area of Nanaimo and East Hastings streets around 1 a.m. Tuesday morning. Fincham said an unusually high number of vehicle break-ins took place in that area overnight, and police are trying to establish whether there’s a link between the stabbing and spate of break ins.
The investigation remains ongoing.
