A veteran Vancouver police officer and Canadian Tire store clerk are expected to survive serious stab wounds in a violent incident Thursday that ended with a robber — who may have been suffering from mental illness — being fatally shot by another officer.
“The injured officer and store employee remain in stable condition,” police chief Adam Palmer said at a news conference Friday afternoon. “I’ve spoken with the officer and his family and he’s recovering in hospital.”
Palmer said the robber has been identified as a 38-year-old Vancouver resident originally from Alberta.
“A search of his home has provided police with concerning evidence of his possible criminal intentions, which will all be part of this ongoing investigation,” Palmer said. He would not elaborate.
He said that while the man’s motive for wanting guns is not yet known, mental illness is “suspected” to be involved.
He said the man is known to police but would not provide details about the man’s criminal record. “We’ve had limited dealings with him.”
The B.C. Coroners Service will release the man’s identity early next week, Palmer said.
Palmer said the incident began shortly before 3 p.m. when a “very large man” dressed in camouflage gear entered the Canadian Tire near Grandview Highway and Rupert, stabbed a 53-year-old store clerk in the back and across the neck, and tried to remove firearms from locked gun cabinets.
He said the suspect — “six feet, one inch, 380 pounds ” – abandoned the weapons and made his way to the exit as police were bombarded by 911 calls.
At that point, Palmer said, the suspect grabbed a customer, an 82-year-old man, and held him hostage at knifepoint. As he exited the doors to the rooftop parking lot, holding his hostage at knifepoint, the first responding officers attempted to arrest him.
The man stabbed a five-year veteran of the force multiple times in the head and abdomen and was then shot by another officer. The robber died at the scene.
“We tried to use the least amount of force possible to take him into custody,” said Palmer. “When that was not possible, lethal force was used.”
The hostage was not injured.
Palmer said there were unconfirmed reports that there may have been another robber, but investigators have ruled that out after reviewing video and speaking to witnesses.
Palmer said that it was his understanding that Thursday’s events “happened very suddenly,” and that he didn’t know how successful the suspect was in removing any firearms from the cabinet.
Palmer noted that VPD officers provided first aid to both the police officer and the injured employee and conducted “life-saving measures that were instrumental in their making their recovery. The actions of our officers were absolutely heroic.”
Palmer also thanked Burnaby RCMP, the B.C. Ambulance Service, Vancouver Fire and Rescue and the Canadian Tire’s loss prevention employees for helping.
Palmer said investigators are asking anyone who shot video of the incident to contact them at 604-717-2500. He said investigators are specifically interested in video provided to the media, but not to investigators.
