British Columbia

Vancouver police catch alleged Chinatown purse snatcher red-handed

Vancouver police have arrested a 28-year-old man after six older Asian women had their purses violently snatched while walking in Chinatown.

A 28-year-old Surrey man is facing charges in relation to the sixth in a series of alleged robberies

Vancouver police said yesterday they were stepping up patrols in Chinatown due to a violent purse snatcher who was targeting older Asian women. (CBC)

Vancouver police have arrested a 28-year-old man from Surrey after a series of six violent purse snatchings targeting older Asian women in Downtown Vancouver's Chinatown neighbourhood.

Undercover police had "swarmed" Chinatown for the past 24 hours, trying to catch a young male suspect in his 20s, according to a release from the Vancouver Police Department.

At about 3 p.m. PT today, an officer spotted a man robbing an 85-year-old woman at Gore Avenue. and Keefer Street — pushing the woman to the ground and causing minor injuries, the release stated.

The man fled, and police followed him to the 200 block of East Pender St. where he was arrested.

Today's robbery was the sixth since Wednesday, all targeting older Asian women between the ages of 59 and 91 on the streets of Chinatown.

Vancouver Police Sgt. Randy Fincham described the attacks as "violent," with several causing minor injuries.

Police continue to investigate the previous five robberies, four of which were described Monday:

  • Oct. 28, 5 p.m. PT, 200 block of East Pender Street
    —80-year-old woman approached from behind by a man who knocked her to the ground and took her purse.
  • Oct. 31, 5:30 p.m. PT, 500 block of Main Street.
    —91-year-old woman approached from behind by a man who "violently tore her purse from her shoulder, knocking her to the ground."
  • Oct. 31, 5:45 p.m. PT, 600 block of Jackson Street
    —81-year-old woman, approached from behind by a man who ripped her purse off her shoulder. She chased him, but he fled.
  • Nov. 1, 5 p.m. PT, near Gore and East Cordova Street
    —59-year-old woman approached from behind, pushed, her purse snatched from her shoulder.