Police Conducting BC-Wide Search for Man Initially Released After Alleged Assault of Woman and Child in Vancouver

Police cars parked outside Vancouver Police Department headquarters on Jan. 9, 2021. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck

Vancouver police are searching for a man who skipped his July 12 court date after being charged with assault, mischief, and obstructing a peace officer in downtown Vancouver on July 9 and released from custody.  Police say the suspect is now wanted B.C.-wide.

The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) arrested suspect Shakwan David Kelly, 27, on July 9 after receiving reports that a shirtless man was causing disruption on Vancouver’s Northeast side, near Chinatown, earlier the same day. Witnesses alleged that the man was walking through traffic and kicking cars, allegedly hitting one so hard that he dented it, the VPD said in a news release..

The man attempted to flee through Chinatown as VPD arrived on the scene, according to police. While running down East Pender street, he allegedly struck a woman and a child standing on the sidewalk, allegedly knocking them violently to the ground. Police included security-camera footage that captured the incident in their report.

The alleged attack resulted in the woman knocking her head on the pavement and her toddler sustaining multiple scrapes, police say.

Vancouver Police arrested Kelly two blocks away on Main Street a few minutes later. They took him into custody and charged him with assault, mischief, and obstruction of justice.

The VPD released Kelly on the same day, but scheduled him to appear in court on July 12—just three days later. However, Kelly did not attend his hearing, thus triggering a province-wide manhunt and making him fugitive from justice.

Police are now asking that any witnesses of the assault come forward and testify. VPD Spokesperson Sergeant Steve Addison said the police have heard from some witnesses, but are seeking more.

“This assault occurred in a busy neighbourhood and was witnessed by about a dozen people,” said Addison in the release. “Although we’ve spoken to some witnesses, we’re still collecting evidence and we’d like to hear from others who saw or heard what happened.”

Police are asking witnesses to call 604-717-4021 with their reports.

The VPD’s search for Kelly comes just days after Sergeant Addison spoke about a rising number of random assaults in Vancouver.  When asked if he’s ever seen crime levels this high during his time with the VPD, Addison said he’s “never seen it like this.”

“I’ve been a police officer for a while now and I’ve never seen it like this,” he told Global News. “ There’s a lot of community concern out there and we hear that concern and we share that concern.”

Addison also said the VPD is working to understand the city’s rising crime rates.

“We believe that it’s not just a policing solution that’s going to solve this epidemic ... because so many of these cases that we’re seeing involve underlying social issues, underlying mental health issues, and repeat offenders,” he said.

The VPD didn’t respond by press time to requests by The Epoch Times for details on the province-wide search for Kelly.