For the second time in less than five months, a woman has been stabbed with a hypodermic needle in Vancouver’s Chinatown neighborhood.
Authorities said the latest victim was walking near Main and Pender streets when a stranger allegedly stuck a needle into her leg without any provocation.
“It appears there was no prior interaction between the victim and the suspect, and the assault was completely unprovoked,” Sgt. Steve Addison said in a news release.
The 41-year-old victim called police and watched her alleged assailant until officers arrived and arrested her, Addison said.
One count of assault with a weapon has since been approved against Kayla Elizabeth Kelly, a 27-year-old who lives in the area.
Police said there’s no evidence to suggest the incident is related to a similar needle stabbing that happened back last fall near Pender and Abbott streets.
The victim in that incident, a 23-year-old woman, was also stabbed in the leg with a needle after leaving a coffee shop in the neighborhood back in October.
Officers arrested a 35-year-old suspect, Cathleen Cunningham, shortly after the attack, and she has since been charged with aggravated assault.