The incident began before 10 p.m., according to a release from the Vancouver Police Department.
The VPD said its officers were called to the scene by Vancouver Fire Rescue at the time after a man set fire to his suite at a home near the intersection of Granville and Smithe streets.
“The man then attacked and stabbed four people inside the building,” police said in a statement.
“When officers arrived, they were confronted by the suspect who was still armed with the weapon.”
Police described the man’s weapon as a “machete” and said on Twitter around 1:30 a.m. Sunday that police had shot the suspect.
Canadian musician Ashley Pater – who was performing at the Roxy Cabaret, one of several clubs and live music venues in the area – told CTV News the business was initially evacuated due to fire concerns.
“In the middle of my set, my manager smelled what he thought might be gas,” Pater said. “He reported it and the next thing we knew the authorities were called and the alarms were going off.”
Pater said once he got outside, the situation quickly escalated.
“The next thing I knew, we saw someone lying on the ground and they were surrounded by firefighters,” he said. “We heard some word that there were shots being fired and that sort of thing everybody out on the street, and then everybody was driven down the sidewalk to Smithe Street.”
In a Facebook post, the Roxy Cabaret said it would be closing early “due to an incident that occurred at a neighboring business” and clarified that none of its staff or patrons had been involved in the violence.
The suspect was arrested and taken to the hospital for treatment of serious, non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
They added that the four victims of the machete attack were also taken to hospital with “serious life-changing injuries”.
VPD’s Major Crimes Division is leading the investigation.
BC’s Office of Independent Investigations – which is called in whenever an incident with police officers in the province results in the death or serious injury of a member of the public – confirmed to CTV News that it had also been called in to investigate.
Multiple people hospitalized with serious injuries, including an armed suspect shot by #VPD officers in the 900 block of Granville Street late last night. More information will be announced when available. There is no threat to public safety at this time. pic.twitter.com/vstNAyNSwE — Vancouver Police (@VancouverPD) August 7, 2022