One of the alleged victims spoke out about the incident on Sunday. He said the suspect lives across the hall from his apartment.
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“I heard a pop and an explosion. I walked into the hallway and it smelled like gasoline,” Cecil Cochrane said. VPD confirmed that a man set fire to his suite inside a home near Granville and Smithe streets. “I was locking my door when he hit me in the head from behind and I went down on one knee. He hit me again with the machete and then I grabbed it,” Cochrane said. “We started fighting, rolling on the ground.” Story continues below ad Cochrane said it appeared the man was trying to kill him. “He was trying to stab me in the neck so I was trying to hold the knife away.” Cochrane said police arrived in the middle of the fight.
Read more: Victoria knife attack leaves man with ‘life-changing injuries’
“The officers yelled at him to drop the knife, he sat up and walked towards the police and that’s when the cops shot him twice. When the shots rang out, I dived into a desk.” Police confirmed that officers were confronted by a man wielding a knife in the area of Granville Street, which led to shots fired by VPD officers. Cochrane described the suspect as about 50 years old and a heavily built man. “I’m hurting and grateful to be alive,” Cochrane said. “He cut me on the head three times, as well as my back and neck.” Cochrane’s injuries were obvious. He was wearing a neck brace with at least 20 staples on the back of his head. Police said there were four victims of the alleged machete attack. Some remain in hospital with “life-changing injuries”. Story continues below ad The VPD’s major crime divisions as well as BC’s Office of Independent Investigations are now investigating. 2:00 VPD Shoots, Injures Suspect in DTES After Alleged Officer Assault VPD Shoots, Injures Suspect in DTES After Alleged Officer Assault – July 30, 2022 Related News © 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
