Vancouver police say a woman they described as “vulnerable” has serious burns after a man doused her with a flammable liquid and set her on fire.
A statement from the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) said it happened around 1:30 a.m. PT on Monday.
The statement said the woman, who is in her 50s, was sitting on a sidewalk in the Downtown Eastside neighborhood when a man in his 30s approached, poured the liquid over her head and set her on fire.
Const. Tanya Visintin says the woman ran to a nearby business to get help.
Police are also investigating a second incident around the same time the woman was attacked, in which a sleeping structure was set on fire.
Tents line the sidewalk in Vancouver’s downtown Eastside on June 22. (Justine Boulin/CBC)
Police say a man told them he was sleeping in an alley not far from the first incident when someone set fire to his shelter, but he was able to put out the flames himself and was not injured.
Visintin says both cases are being investigated as arson, but police do not believe there is a connection.
“However, it is still very early in the investigation, so we are not ruling anything out,” Visintin said in the release.
The attack on the woman was shocking, Visintin says, because it targeted a “vulnerable member” of the community.
Anyone with information about either incident is asked to call the VPD Major Crimes Unit at 604-717-2541.
Add Comment