Vancouver police arrest man allegedly throwing knives at tree in Stanley Park

A 33-year-old man from Surrey, B.C., was arrested in Stanley Park on Saturday after reports of a person throwing knives at a tree near Bridle Path and Lees Trail.

Witnesses told CBC News that while walking in the area around 6:30 p.m PT on Saturday they heard a smacking noise and saw a man repeatedly throwing knives into a large tree trunk from about three metres away.

Michael Connidis, who was walking with his friend, Zhigang Duan, said some of the knives became embedded in the tree.

"[The suspect] was throwing the objects the same way a performing knife thrower would throw knives at a target," he wrote in an email to CBC News. "It was unnerving to see this happening ahead of us on the path we were taking."

Police said once officers arrived at the scene they arrested a suspect. They recommended charges of common nuisance and mischief to Crown prosecutors.

Police said the suspect was also breaching court conditions not to possess knives.

Previous tree damage

The VPD says the incident does not appear to be related to tree vandalism that was reported in April.

Officials from the City of Vancouver and its park board asked for help in finding the person who damaged four majestic redwood trees in the park by scraping bark from their trunks.

Officials say that scraping bark away from trees in the park could cause them to die. The city can seek compensation for trees that are willfully destroyed in the park.

Stanley Park is known for giant fir and cedar trees, some of which are hundreds of years old.

Witnesses to the incident on Saturday said they saw several trees with damage to them in the area where the arrest was made.