VANCOUVER — A man is in police custody and another is being hailed as a hero after a violent attack by a knife-wielding man in an East Vancouver park during a bocce ball game.
The attack happened at Victoria Park about 7:30 p.m. Saturday, police said Sunday.
Vancouver police spokesman Sgt. Randy Fincham said the 50-year-old victim was playing bocce, a bowling-style sport especially popular in Italy, with friends when a man armed with a knife came up and started slashing him.
Police weren’t sure whether the two men knew each other.
The victim suffered multiple slash wounds to his hand and head. He was treated by paramedics at the scene before being rushed to hospital.
A man who helped disarm the slasher is being called a Good Samaritan by the police.
“If not for the actions of this Good Samaritan, the victim could easily have suffered injuries beyond the slash wounds,” Fincham said in a statement.
When police arrived, they found the suspect in the park, holding a second knife.
The man refused to follow directions from police and was taken into custody with the help of police dogs. The suspect, a 45-year-old Vancouver man, was arrested for attempted murder and possession of a dangerous weapon.
Residents living in the 1400 block Victoria Drive, where the attack took place, said the park often has transients who are drinking and doing drugs at all times of the evening.
“Something needs to be done around here,” said Tara Sundberg, who was in the park with her baby, Charlie.
Sundberg has lived near the park for 20 years, but in the last few years, she said, the situation has deteriorated. “Things are getting out of hand here,” she said. “This is a wake-up call. This is terrifying — people’s lives are at risk.”
Elvo Delrossi, 86, has lived by Victoria Park for more than 40 years. He has been an avid bocce player and has never seen a full-blown fight in Victoria Park.
“No fights over bocce — arguments, but never a fight,” Delrossi said.
David Scott, 47, an area resident who was in the park Sunday, said drinking is a problem, especially later at night.
“This is the local drinking park,” Scott said.
“Police are here all the time, doing their job,” he said. “There are a few fights. The alcohol brings it out.”
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