Man shot with arrow in random attack police call insensitive, shocking

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“This level of callousness and indifference is shocking. All signs point to a random attack, and we are very concerned that the victim was already one of the most vulnerable in our community. “- Vancouver Police spokesman Sgt. Steve Addison

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Postmedia News

A homeless man was shot with an arrow on the Downtown Eastside Thursday night. The shot was likely fired from the fire escape of a building on East Hastings St. Officers recovered a cache of real and imitation weapons from the building, including crossbows, replica assault rifles, sights, lights and lasers.
A homeless man was shot with an arrow on the Downtown Eastside Thursday night. The shot was likely fired from the fire escape of a building on East Hastings St. Officers recovered a cache of real and imitation weapons from the building, including crossbows, replica assault rifles, sights, lights and lasers. VPD Photo /PNG

A man standing in the street on the Downtown Eastside was shot in the leg with an arrow in what police called a “shocking” random attack on Thursday.

Later, police found a cache of real weapons and replicas, including crossbows, from a building on East Hastings Street that they believe the shot came from and are continuing to investigate. No arrests have been made.

The victim was 22 years old and homeless, police said.

“This level of callousness and indifference is shocking,” said Vancouver police spokesman Sgt. Steve Addison said in a statement. “All signs point to a random attack, and we are very concerned that the victim was already one of the most vulnerable in our community.”

The 22-year-old was standing in front of the Women’s Center on Columbia and East Cordova streets “when she felt a sharp pain in her leg and realized she had been shot,” Addison said.

He walked a block with the arrow under his kneecap to a nearby supervised injection clinic, police said. Staff called 911 and administered first aid.

“We believe the person who shot the arrow was a resident or visitor who fled before the police arrived,” Addison said. “We continue to collect evidence and are working hard to identify the shooter.”

“We know that the homeless and homeless are already more likely to be victims of crime than those who are housed,” he said. “We are doing everything we can to identify the people who did this and hold them accountable.”

The attack came about two months after police released a video of another attack on a homeless man, who was repeatedly pushed and kicked by a stranger in Yaletown.

Police are continuing to investigate that incident, which occurred around 1 a.m. on July 26, under investigation. No arrests have been made.

Reference-vancouversun.com

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