A 16-year-old has been charged in connection to a vicious assault near the 22nd Street SkyTrain station.
New Westminster police were called to Eighth Avenue and 23rd Street about 8 p.m. on Tuesday night, after a passerby found a body of an injured man on the ground. The man was still alive, but was badly injured, according to Cpl. Dominic Duchesneau of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.
The homicide team has now charged a teenager with aggravated assault and assault with a weapon in connection to the case.
On Wednesday, homicide investigators were questioning a suspect they had taken in to custody shortly after receiving the call last night on Tuesday night.
"There is a person that was arrested as well," Duchesneau told The Record Tuesday.
The victim is in critical condition and police do not expect he will survive his injuries, Duchesneau added.
"There's a likelihood that that is probably what is going to happen, that the victim is going to (die)," Duchesneau said.
The victim is described as a young man, but according to Duchesneau, his name and the extent of his injuries aren't being released at this time.
The assault has shaken residents in the Connaught Heights neighbourhood.
“We have a significant portion of our community blocked off,” said Kris Taylor, president of the residents’ association. “Even last night (Dec. 18), I was walking to the SkyTrain and there were five police cars there. It is obviously an issue.”
Taylor is contacting IHIT and New Westminster Police with the hopes of having a police officer attend a meeting to provide the community with information about the incident.
“This was something that happened outside,” he said. “It is not like they were called to a residence.”
Taylor advises anyone interested in attending an emergency meeting of the Connaught Height Residents’ Association on the matter to email [email protected] and put “subscribe” in the subject line.
Police closed off a portion of Eighth Avenue between 21st and 24th streets while they canvassed the area and photographed the scene. As of The Record’s presstime, police hadn’t stated whether the attack was random or targeted.
Police are asking anyone who was in the area of 23rd Street and Eighth Avenue between 7 and 8 p.m. who may have witnessed this incident to call the IHIT tipline at 1-877-551-4448 or by email at [email protected].
If you wish to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or leave a tip on their website at Solvecrime.ca.
