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"Horrific assault" at the centre of a GoFundMe campaign disputed by VPD

[READ STARR AND JONES' GOFUNDME UPDATE HERE ] Photo: Elle Star – GoFundMe Earlier this week we published an article about a GoFundMe fundraiser that had been set up to help the victim of an alleged "horrific assault" ( LINK - warning: contains graphi

[READ STARR AND JONES' GOFUNDME UPDATE HERE]

 Photo: Elle Starr - GoFundMePhoto: Elle Star – GoFundMe

Earlier this week we published an article about a GoFundMe fundraiser that had been set up to help the victim of an alleged "horrific assault" (LINK - warning: contains graphic images).

The VPD tell us that the victim in this case may have simply fell, though the victim herself tells us she distinctly remembers being pushed.

According to Jason Robillard of the VPD, "Just before 11 p.m., on October 7th, Vancouver Police were called to the area of Main Street and East King Edward Avenue for the report of an injured woman and possible assault."

He states that the injured person, Shawn Jones, who is the General Manager of Nomad restaurant, "had injuries consistent with a fall".

After VPD officers spoke with three witnesses they were "unable to locate any evidence that the injuries were caused by a criminal act or an assault" and concluded that "This incident is not being categorized as an assault."

We reached out to the organizer of the GoFundMe, Elle Starr, earlier this week but have yet to get a response.

On the fundraising page Starr writes that "Shawn has been ambitious in trying to get back on her feet, but she is dealing with PTSD and suffering from some pretty severe anxiety. On top of this, the accident is coming at a financial cost (as if the physical and emotional cost isn’t damaging enough)."

Jones' situation is incredibly unfortunate, and as of the time of this writing the campaign has raised $18,825.

An update to it says that any money exceeding Jones' expenses will go "back into another charity to help out the next comrade in a sticky situation".

In a phone interview, she tells us that she disputes the VPD's characterization of the events.

As she tells it, the VPD waited three weeks to return calls from her regarding the event that took place. She says that it was only until after the media attention around the GoFundMe campaign that they reached out to her.

She also tells us that the VPD told her none of the three witnesses actually saw her fall occur.

Jones spent three hours with the VPD yesterday, filing a report detailing what happened. She was told that they may be "changing their statement" in regards to the incident.

We will update you when we know more.

This article has been updated to include Jones' account. A previous version included only what we knew from the GoFundMe campaign page and the VPD.