VPD renew warnings of violence at Oppenheimer Park following assault and tent fire

Vancouver Police are warning of continued violence at Oppenheimer Park, this time after an assault and tent fire. Isabelle Raghem reports.

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Vancouver Police are warning of continued violence at Oppenheimer Park, this time after an assault and tent fire.

Sergeant Aaron Roed with VPD says early Tuesday morning, police were called to the park to reports of a 32-year-old man being assaulted.

“Just after seven o’clock in the morning, a man inside of a tent in the park was assaulted with the handle of an axe,” he says. “He was hit in the face and did sustained minor injuries. Officers were called and are investigating that situation. While they were inside the tent they were able to identify and seize three axes, six knives and a pair of bolt cutters.”

This comes after another seizure of weapons from the park on February 27th, including crossbows, guns, and knives.

Roed says not even a day after the latest assault, officers patrolling the area spotted a tent on fire early Wednesday morning.

“Just before 3:30 in the morning, officers were in the area of Oppenheimer Park. They did come across a tent that was actively on fire,” he says. “They immediately notified Vancouver Fire who did attend and were able to extinguish the fire. Thankfully, no one was injured but there were small explosions due to propane canisters and aerosol cans.”

He says this an issue they’ve been seeing more of in recent weeks adding it’s a concern for those living in the park and surrounding areas.

“We’re unable at this time to identify who owns this tent and this is something that we’re seeing, repetitively, with different occurrences happening in the park. There was no one in the tent and no one’s giving any information on who was in the tent, how the fire started, or who owns it,” he says. “This fire could have easily gotten out of hand very quickly, and it is fortunate no one was hurt.”

Roed says the VPD will continue to monitor the area.

“The Vancouver police will continue to maintain a high visible presence in and around the park and we are going to continue working with the City of Vancouver, Park Board, Vancouver Fire Rescue Services and deal with any issues that relate to the park.”

 

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