New Westminster police arrested a Surrey man Tuesday afternoon after a series of 911 calls alerted them of an assault happening on 16th Street.
At about 4:20 p.m. on July 29, the police department received several calls from people reporting a man allegedly attacking a woman in the 500-block of 16th St.
"It was on the street, I believe, where the initial incident happened, and then as the calls came in (the man) fled," Staff Sgt. Paul Hyland told The Record.
Hyland said officers alleged the suspect attacked the victim and a witness on 16th Street with a knife before fleeing to the victim's home in the 1600-block of Sixth Ave. where he was later found and arrested.
"(Officers) actually evacuated some of the other surrounding suites and made attempts to call (the suspect) out but there was no kind of response, so they called for the emergency response team members - who were on route - and then, of course, he made himself known," Hyland explained.
New Westminster's major crime unit - who took over the investigation shortly after the suspect was brought into custody - determined the victim and the suspect were in a relationship and that the assault was not random.
Forty-two-year-old Allen James Klassen remains in custody at this time and is expected to make a court appearance via video this afternoon (July 31). He has been charged with forcible confinement, breaking and entering, uttering threats and two counts of assault with a weapon.
