Vancouver police were stretched thin during a spate of violent incidents that took place in the city over the weekend.

The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) stated today (September 13) that a series of stabbing, shootings, and assaults resulted in arrests and several people being hospitalized with injuries.

Just before the weekend began, as previously reported, police were investigating a violent sexual assault against a 76-year-old woman in a wheelchair in Downtown Vancouver, sometime between September 7 and 9.

Around 6:30 p.m. on September 10, a 26-year-old man was stabbed near Pigeon Park in the Downtown Eastside. Mere hours earlier, he had been released from hospital after being treated for a stabbing on the previous day. In the second stabbing, he suffered a lacerated kidney and internal bleeding but is expected to live.

Just before 10 p.m. on September 10,  a woman entered the police station at Main and East Cordova Street after being stabbed in the abdomen, hip, and buttocks. She received medical attention, and her injuries are not life-threatening. Officers followed a trail of blood left by the victim for more than a block. Investigators believe the victim may have been lured into a lane by a man and woman she knew, and was then assaulted. The investigation remains ongoing.

On the morning of September 12, the VPD dispatched its Emergency Response Team to a highrise near the intersection of Burrard and West Georgia after gunfire was reported in the building. Police focused on an apartment connected to a known gang member and arrested three individuals, including the alleged shooter. Officers took a 23-year-old male suspect into custody who will face charges. No one was seriously injured in this shooting, and the investigation remains ongoing.

Around 1:30 a.m. on September 12, a 21-year-old woman was stabbed in the chest and a 33-year-old man was stabbed in the arm. Both victims were taken to hospital and are expected to survive. Officers found the victims on the sidewalk in the Downtown Eastside and located a crime scene inside a social-housing complex. During the investigation, officers heard a gunshot in a room on the fourth floor. Police, with assistance from the VPD Emergency Response Team, arrested a suspect after he allegedly left the room while holding a sharp object.

Meanwhile, VPD officers were also monitoring a number of protests held on the weekend and were investigated other assaults, missing person cases, and traffic collisions.

“Our front-line officers and specially-trained detectives have been going full tilt since Friday in an effort to stem the violence and make headway on these cases,” VPD spokesperson Sgt. Steve Addison stated in a news release. “Dozens of police officers have been assigned to these investigations. We’re doing everything we can to solve them and to prevent more violence.”

All in-progress incidents or anything that could put someone at risk should be immediately reported to 911. Less serious incidents, where there are no safety concerns and the suspect has left, can be reported online or to the VPD non-emergency line at 604-717-3321.