The head of the Independent Investigations Office has commended Vancouver police officers for their “quick action” in taking down a knife-wielding SRO tenant last summer who seriously injured residents and set fire to his suite.
The chaotic scene, which unfolded in the Siesta Rooms in the 900-block Granville Street, saw people slashed in the face and arms, including one woman who lost fingers in the attack on the evening of Aug. 6, 2022.
Police and firefighters were also threatened by the man.
IIO Chief Civilian Director Ronald MacDonald released a public report Aug. 4 on the incident in which he cleared police of any wrongdoing. Police used a Taser on the tenant before shooting him twice, with one bullet striking him in the leg.
When police arrived on scene, they encountered a man with a large knife who was “in the process of assaulting and injuring” one of the tenants, said MacDonald in his report, which included a photo of a knife with a 10-inch blade recovered from the building.
The man then advanced towards officers in a “clearly threatening manner.”
“It is unfortunate that the [Taser] was not effective, but when it did not incapacitate [the man], it was reasonable for [the officer] to conclude that he had little choice but to use lethal force in defence of himself and his colleagues,” MacDonald wrote.
“It is also worth noting that the prompt entry into the building by the attending officers interrupted a very serious assault by [the man] on an innocent resident, quite possibly saving his life. Their quick action is commendable.”
The man told IIO investigators during the investigation that he had lived in the SRO for several years. On the night of the incident, he said, he was experiencing paranoia and hallucinations. He obtained gasoline and set fire to items in his suite.
He also told investigators that he knew how police would respond to his actions and had “deliberately put himself in that situation and was happy with the thought of dying.” When he woke up in hospital, he said, he was disappointed he had been hit in the chest with Taser darts and not a bullet.
Fingers severed
The danger to tenants and police was also very real for firefighters, who were dispatched to 936 Granville St. at 9:48 p.m. Crews from No. 8 fire hall, which included two firefighters with less than a year’s service on the job, were first on scene.
A security guard led firefighters to the man’s suite and opened his door. The man struck the guard in the head with a knife before chasing the firefighters, who defended themselves with an axe and a pry bar.
“[The man] then sprayed bear spray in the hallway and started attacking other residents,” MacDonald said. “He struck a female victim several times with the knife, causing several injuries and severing three of her fingers. He then assaulted a male resident, leaving him with lacerations to his arm and chest.”
At one point during the incident, one of the firefighters blocked a steel door to protect himself and others and keep the man from advancing, according to Capt. Matthew Trudeau of Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services, in reviewing notes Tuesday of the incident.
The man then smashed the door’s window with a knife.
More firefighters arrived on scene to fight the fire and treat the injured, which eventually included the man in question, who was shot in the upper right leg. The man was involuntarily admitted under the Mental Health Act, but the report doesn’t say to which facility.
“The crews that were up there [in the SRO] looking after the fire and the other crew that basically fled and protected themselves from this guy went and gave him aid afterwards,” said Trudeau, who described the call as “very serious, very chaotic, very stressful.”
“An act of fire, people trying to defend their lives, multiple injuries that are serious and then a shooting — it speaks to the resilience of the crews to handle all that.”
'Significant mark'
Lee Lax, vice-president of public engagement for Vancouver Fire Firefighters IAFF Local 18, said he was grateful none of the firefighters was physically injured during the call, but pointed out the effect it will have on crews, particularly younger members.
“It’s going to leave a significant mark on our members that had to deal with that,” Lax said. “Two of the firefighters that were quick thinking and protected themselves, they were under a year into their career. This will probably be one of the most impactful incidents that they've ever had to respond to.”
He praised the police for their actions that night.
“It was an incredible, thorough and immediate response that inevitably really protected our members,” he said, noting the incident highlights the need for more services in Vancouver for people who use drugs and are living with a mental illness. “We're quite hopeful that this citizen was able to access the care that he needed.”
Ibrahim Abdela Bakhit, who was 48 when charged in connection with the incident, appeared in court July 27 on charges of attempted murder, three counts of aggravated assault, one count of assault with a weapon encompassing events involving several firefighters and one each of arson and possession of incendiary materials.
Bakhit was found not criminally responsible for any offences on account of mental disorder, according to Daniel McLaughlin, communications counsel for the B.C. Prosecution Service.
McLaughlin said the disposition has been deferred to the British Columbia Review Board.
In the meantime, Bakhit was ordered detained at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital. Seven other charges related to arson, assault and weapons were stayed June 12.
