Martin Lamb has been charged with two counts of assault, two counts of aggravated assault and one count of break and enter. Three of the charges, announced Thursday, relate to three separate attacks since the night of Aug. 18 in the city’s Fairview neighborhood, which includes Granville Island. Police said the first attack happened shortly after 6:30 p.m. PT near the False Creek wall under the Cambie Street Bridge. A 70-year-old man was approached from behind, tackled to the ground, then punched and kicked multiple times by an unknown man. Police cordoned off an area of West Broadway near Alder Street in Vancouver on August 18 after a woman was stabbed while walking her dog. (David Ball/CBC) About 45 minutes later, around 7:15 p.m. PT, a 33-year-old woman was walking her dog on a sidewalk near West 11th Avenue and Spruce Street when she was approached from behind and punched in the face. Police say the third attack happened just before 8:45 p.m. when a 23-year-old woman was stabbed as she walked near West Broadway and Alder Street. She suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries.
Break and enter too
In announcing the charges Thursday, police also said Lamb had been charged in connection with a home invasion early on Aug. 20. Police said a 54-year-old woman suffered serious and life-threatening injuries after the attack inside her Riley Park home. “It was a rather brutal and violent attack,” said Sgt. Steve Addison. “There will be very long-lasting emotional scars if there are no permanent physical scars.” Addison said the shooter was arrested after he left the home and was later linked to the three previous attacks. Lamb is scheduled for a bail hearing in provincial court on Thursday. Addison said at a press conference that he had no “significant police history.” He said Lamb lives in the same “general area” where the attacks took place and was arrested on West Broadway in a public place at 5am on Saturday.
Alien attacks
As part of the news conference about the arrest and charges, Addison talked about trends police have seen in seemingly random attacks in Vancouver without specifically mentioning Lamb. He said most stranger attacks involve mental health issues and repeat offenders. Addison also said the type of violence in the city is deeply troubling. “It’s a huge public safety issue,” he said. “It causes fear in the community.” It’s true, every day I hear from people who tell me that they no longer feel safe walking the streets of the city. Not just Downtown or Chinatown, some of the most recent stranger attacks have been in Fairview and Kitsilano. Everyone deserves to feel safe at https://t.co/dnW8dE0Zoj —@MelissaDeGenova
