Homeless man pushed, kicked in the head in unprovoked Vancouver attack

Editor’s note: This article contains video footage of a violent attack and may be disturbing to viewers.

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Police call it a disturbing, heartless, and cowardly attack. A man was shoved to the ground and kicked in a violent, unprovoked assault in Vancouver’s Yaletown neighbourhood last month.

Vancouver police have shared footage taken by a bystander at around 1 a.m. on July 26 on Hamilton Street. In the video, a man is seen arguing with two others. A man who police say is homeless then walks past the group and appears to speak to them.

One of the men then swats the victim on the head and then chases him down the sidewalk and pushes him to the ground. The man then repeatedly kicks the victim on the back and then once in the head.

“He kicked him so hard, you can actually see him moving the victim just from the force of the kick. One of the people who we believe knows the suspect did intervene to prevent a further assault,” said Sgt. Steve Addison with the Vancouver Police Department.

“It’s incredibly disturbing. It’s cowardly. It’s heartless. It’s heartbreaking to see somebody treated like this. People should not be treated this way and we can do better.”

Police say the victim was not seriously hurt.

“I can’t speak for the emotional or psychological trauma that must go with being treated like this by a stranger,” Addison said.

He says the victim lives in the downtown core and officers are familiar with him.

“He’s a pleasant man that we’ve seen and interacted with on a number of occasions,” Addison said. “We have spoken to him. Obviously, this must have been a terrifying and traumatic incident for him.”

Sgt. Steve Addison says witnesses did report this the night it happened, but investigators need help making positive ID of suspect caught on video July 26th.

“It is concerning. We take all these incidents very seriously.”@VancouverPD #Yaletown

— Marcella Bernardo (@MBernardoNews) August 25, 2021

The suspect is believed to be in his 20s, has an above-average build, and a medium skin-tone. He was wearing a red Chicago Bulls jersey over a black t-shirt and black pants at the time of the attack.

“We’d like everyone to take a good look at these images,” Addison said. “We’re confident someone knows these people and can help us solve this crime.”

A third man is seen at the end of the video, putting a stop to the attack.

“By all means, if you were involved in this incident, this is your opportunity to come forward,” Addison said.

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• Rise in Vancouver stranger sexual assaults prompts questions about prevention

• Three girls groped by stranger on Vancouver seawall, incidents may be related

If you have any information about the suspect or the people he was with, you are asked to call the VPD tip line at 604-717-4022.

With files from Marcella Bernardo