Shooting victim in Vancouver only had a small X-Acto knife

by Amy Judd | March 20, 2009 at 10:48 am

2025 views | 31 Recommendations | 11 comments

Update: 11:22am Saturday March 21st

Vancouver police have released details today the the man they shot at Homer and Dunsmuir Street yesterday afternoon, was armed with only a small X-Acto knife. He refused to drop the knife when confronted with two women police officers, both with five years experience, and then one of the officers fatally shot him when he advanced on them.

It is still not known if the man was homeless or if the officers were carrying tasers at the time.

Previous reporting

One person is dead after a shooting at Homer And Dunsmuir Street in downtown Vancouver this afternoon. The victim was shot by Vancouver Police.

Update: 2:28pm PST

The 911 call came in at about 10:30am this morning that a theft from a vehicle was currently taking place. When the police arrived they started chasing one of the suspects, who became the victim. Constable Jana McGuinness says:

Two officers were checking a possible suspect when they requested backup “stating he had a knife and then the next thing you know the man was shot and killed,”

Previous reporting:

It appears that the deceased was a homeless man who was wielding a knife when he was shot by police. A bus was passing by at the time it happened and those witnesses are being interviewed by police. The body can be seen under a yellow tarp outside the Salvation Army Building.

This is the 38th shooting in the Lower Mainland since the beginning of the year.

The incident, which took place at the 500 block Homer Street, has seen traffic blocked as police investigate.

According to CKNW, witnesses have said that police have shot and killed a man waving a knife around on the 500 block of Homer Street.

We are looking for more information on this event.

0 See all footage | View Slideshow

Share: email story | add to any | | facebook | stumbleupon

recommend Sign In or Join to post comments

Diane Smithers (not verified)

at 12:10 on March 20th, 2009

Three of the five photos posted appear to be the same..

Amy Judd

at 12:28 on March 20th, 2009

They are actually just slightly different, but were taken in very quick succession (I thought the same as you though first!)

Juliettemvp (not verified)

at 12:30 on March 20th, 2009

It was two men fighting amongst themselves; one had a pocket knife. When police tried to intervene he turned on them so he was shot. Very tragic thing. Poor man. Someone's father, brother or son. Could they not have shot his leg or something rather than in the chest and kill him instantly? Arm chair quarterback here but just WOW.

I wish I had gone for lunch a little later; horrible way to start the weekend. Awful.

Just a comment (not verified)

at 13:24 on March 20th, 2009

It would be nice if they could shoot for a leg or something however unfortunately this isn't particularly safe either. I'm not a cop but in any sort of firearms training you're taught to "be sure of your target AND BEYOND". As much as the leg would seem like a more humane choice to hopefully salvage life, the officer has very little time to make absolutely sure he hits exactly what he's shooting at and nothing else. The torso has the largest surface area and is not as easy to miss. If you're going to aim for a limb do you have time to think about 'what or who is behind the guy if I miss?'. Or if you're shooting down toward his leg and miss, you could have a ricochet if the bullet hits the pavement or another hard object. I'm sure police officers would rather salvage the life if possible but with little time to react I'm sure they're taught to make sure of their shot. And the torso is safer than a limb unfortunately.

reba heart (not verified)

at 14:36 on April 1st, 2009

Your sure....you sound like a cop protecting his own.Wake up and read a paper .Are u sure those cops who stalked that paper delivery guy who almost beat to death & what were their words...I HATE BROWN PEOPLE BUDDY.So are you sure? Don't you know that it seems that cops can be murderers in fact they get vacation with pay ..thats an asset. TALK TO A VICTIM OF VPD...police who abuse their power are cowboys..& a disgrace yo our legal system.

altrugon

at 15:25 on March 20th, 2009

He was stealing, he was armed, he obviously didn't surrender or drop his weapon... it sounds to me like the Police did the right thing, or would you have prefer the police gave him enough time to catch a hostage, or just hurt/kill somebody?

I don't think the policemen just jump out of their car and start to shoot.

bsqwuig (not verified)

at 21:01 on March 20th, 2009

I guess in some ppls opinion the police can't do anything right?? So now the taser is a better option i suppose. Ppl need to educate themselves- the police are taught to use deadly force when faced with death or greivious bodily harm. Would you risk your life using an unreliable piece of equipment such as the tazer.

Maybe instead of criticizing, you should put on a uniform and make a split second decision when an armed individual is approaching them- not so easy now is it. It doesn't matter if it was an exacto knife- that size could still sever a major artery and cause death.

At the end of the night, the goal is to go home to your family.

your kidding me (not verified)

at 14:49 on April 1st, 2009

I guess in your eyes cops cant do anything wrong.You put on a uniform or u a cop.Oh i know when cops took a kid to the park & broke his arm or kill a man at the airport or it goes on...peace officers or war officers.If u want to kiss a police mans ass u doing a good job..police man who says that.you sound like your 4 yrs old grow up and read a paper buddy.!!!!

n* (not verified)

at 22:14 on March 20th, 2009

I pose a simple question.

For those mothers and fathers out there. If your child was a police officer, and they were put in this tragic situation, would you want them to do anything else but shoot the man with the knife? At least you know your child will come home from work.

Answer that question honestly. It is easy to criticize when you do not put yourself in others shoes.

Its funny, the same people who want tougher sentences, are the same ones who protect the criminals.

Barry ORegan

at 06:31 on March 21st, 2009

Excellent story Amy, goes to show you dont bring a knife to a gunfight, or even a stapler for that matter.

outlier (not verified)

at 06:38 on March 23rd, 2009

It's time to stop the Swat Team mentality in our police forces. It's time to get rid of the idea of using 'deadly force' (shoot to kill) when an officer feels 'threatened' (a purely subjective response). A 'safe' weapon was invented decades ago to subdue wild animals. To my knowledge, not one policing entity has chosen it as a viable method of 'capturing' weapon-wielding individuals without treating them as expendible creatures. The net-shooting gun can be observed in action briefly on the following site.

go ogle net-shooting guns

Let's be the first juridiction to put 'humanity' back into own civil servants hired to 'serve and protect' us. Let's reteach our peace officers to treat perps as if they were members of their family (whose lives they would certainly 'preserve' at all costs). It's not 'us against "them"'.

Outlier