A young food delivery worker is recovering from life-threatening injuries after what Vancouver police are calling an unprovoked and random stabbing. It happened around 6pm on Sunday in the city’s Chinatown district, where police say witnesses and bystanders may have helped save the victim’s life. Francis Cruz was one of the people who called 911 after the Skip the Dishes worker was attacked by an unknown person on Gore Avenue near East Pender Street. “He was stabbed right in the neck,” Cruz said. “He kept trying to lock his bike while it was like he was bleeding.” Cruz was working at a local hair salon when he heard voices outside. He says people rushed to help, with one putting pressure on the victim’s neck until first responders arrived. “He looked conscious … but he was just shaken,” Cruz recalled. “It was so intense.” The 22-year-old victim suffered life-threatening injuries, including stab wounds to the chest and neck, but is expected to survive. Sgt. Steve Addison with the Vancouver Police Department said “a lot of credit” goes to the public in this case, for helping the victim and providing critical information to investigators. “Right now, we’re not motivated. It seems to be random. It seems unprovoked,” he said. “Young man who just came to Canada in the spring, he came from Afghanistan, he was a refugee trying to get a better life and here he is doing his job trying to get by, and he was attacked.” Police said people in the area at the time provided key information that led to the arrest of a 43-year-old suspect in Crab Park shortly after the attack. Dennis Amanand Prasad is charged with aggravated assault and has a court date on Tuesday. Last month, a well-known security guard was attacked by an unknown person in the neighborhood. Addison said random unprovoked attacks are happening more and in this case those who came to help may have helped save the young victim’s life. Cruz said he is glad to hear the young man survived. “I’m an immigrant myself,” he said. “I know what it’s like the first year, the first two years, trying to adapt to the new culture. So I’m sure he was just trying to do his job.”
