Dramatic video has captured the moment a mass stabbing suspect was wrestled to the ground by police after killing a woman and injuring five others at a Vancouver library.
The attack occurred in the early afternoon on Saturday at a public library located near a busy shopping area of a Vancouver suburb, shocking residents of the normally quiet area.
The suspect apparently injured himself with the knife as policed closed in on him, bystander video shows.
‘He’s cut himself, I’m going for the knife!’ a police officer is heard shouting as the suspect drops to the ground and cops converge on him.
The stabbing suspect was caught on bystander video as he wandered near the scene of an attack on Saturday afternoon at a library in the suburbs of Vancouver, British Columbia
Officers surrounded the suspect and shouted ‘He’s cut himself’ as the suspect made a wild jumping motion and then dropped to the ground
Numerous officers swarmed the suspect and took him into custody after the stabbing attack
‘We have six victims who sustained stab wounds. We have a victim who has sadly succumbed to injuries. That victim is a woman,’ police Sergeant Frank Jang said in a news conference broadcast by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
‘We believe we have the lone suspect in custody… Obviously the question is why did this happen,’ Jang told reporters standing in front of the library where the attack occurred.
Video from the scene appeared to show a man injuring himself with a knife before being taken into police custody.
While there was no report on his condition, Jang said that the suspect has a criminal record.
One witness, Steve Mossop, said he and his partner stopped in traffic when they saw a bloodied woman who told them she had just been stabbed. They then saw several victims within about 100 meters (yards) of each other, he said.
‘There was a man, there was an older woman, there was a younger woman, a mom – a random group of individuals in the wrong place at the wrong time,’ Mossop said.
‘It seemed like he was just running in a direction, whoever was in his path happened to be victimized,’ Mossop said of the attacker.
Police say ‘multiple victims’ were stabbed within and outside Lynn Valley Library, in North Vancouver on Saturday afternoon
Emergency personnel and their vehicles are seen on a road outside Lynn Valley Main Library, where police said multiple people were stabbed by a suspect who was later taken into custody
First responders are seen outside the Lynn Valley Library, in North Vancouver, British Columbia after a broad daylight stabbing spree on Saturday
‘I was in the library community room and just outside, suddenly, we hear yelling and everyone stopped and stared, everyone started running out the side door,’ witness Mary Craver told Global News.
‘I just started running too. We ran all the way to the mall.’
Ethan Jackson, who works at a dental office nearby, described hearing a woman scream then seeing a man lying on the ground outside covering his face, surrounded by blood.
Eleven ambulances reported to the scene, plus two additional emergency vehicles, at the first reports of the stabbings.
Mayor of District of North Vancouver, Mike Little, praised the ‘quick action and excellent teamwork’ of the emergency services and sent ‘our very best wishes to the victims and their families, who were just out on their regular Saturday business.’
Members of the RCMP are seen outside of the Lynn Valley Library, in North Vancouver
Police work the crime scene after the attack. Witnesses say the knifeman attacked at random, stabbing anyone who came into his path as he ran amok
A Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer speaks with a witness after the attack. Police say multiple victims were stabbed inside and outside the library
‘Lynn Valley and the whole District of North Vancouver is a close-knit, quiet community. An incident like this is deeply upsetting when it happens in the community we love,’ Little said.
On Twitter, Canadian Public Safety Minister Bill Blair expressed shock and sadness over the incident, calling it a ‘senseless act of violence.’
‘My heart is in North Vancouver tonight,’ Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Twitter. ‘Know that all Canadians are keeping you in our thoughts and wishing a speedy recovery to the injured.’
Investigators appealed for witnesses to come forward, especially those who had shot videos that were later posted on social media.
