A 35-year-old male was found with serious injuries after what the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) is calling a “mallet attack” that occurred downtown at around 1:40 a.m. on Oct. 20.
According to the VPD, two men are in custody and facing “potential” robbery charges after the early morning downtown attack.
Police responded to a report of an assault with a hammer near West Cordova and Richards streets. When officers arrived on the scene, they located the 35-year-old man suffering from head bruising, injuries to both hands, and a bloody nose.
A security guard was able to assist police by providing immediate access to the building’s CCTV surveillance footage. Afterwards, officers tracked down and arrested two male suspects in close proximity to where the mallet attack took place.
The two individuals matched the descriptions police had observed in the CCTV footage.
After a search of the two individuals, police were able to locate a rubber mallet and a car key fob that belonged to the victim in the possession of one of the suspects.
Charges of robbery have been forwarded to Crown counsel.
Both of the individuals involved were transported to jail, where they remain in custody while awaiting a bail hearing.
This is the second violent incident that the VPD have released information about in just as many days.
Yesterday, police shared some information about a stabbing at a downtown Vancouver nightclub in the Granville Entertainment District, adding that the incident appeared to be related to gang conflict.
While VPD didn’t share the name of the establishment involved in the incident, VPD did say that it occurred somewhere near Granville and Smithe streets.
Four individuals were seriously injured, but the injuries were non-life-threatening.
“We believe this was a targeted incident tied to the Lower Mainland gang conflict,” said VPD Constable Darren Wong in a statement about the stabbing.
“We are asking anyone who witnessed the altercation, or who has information about what happened, to come forward and speak with our investigators.”