Close X
Sunday, November 10, 2024
ADVT 
National

Ex-B.C. police chief to investigate release of suspect before Chinatown stabbing

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 14 Sep, 2023 04:20 PM
  • Ex-B.C. police chief to investigate release of suspect before Chinatown stabbing

Former Abbotsford police chief Bob Rich has been appointed to look into the release of a man from British Columbia's psychiatric hospital before the man allegedly stabbed three people in Vancouver's Chinatown. 

Premier David Eby said Thursday that he has read the BC Review Board report on the accused and wants Rich to determine how the man could have been released, despite being a "really significant danger to the public." 

"At the end of the day, the core question of how a violent, psychotic individual was released into the community to attack innocent people is the question that needs to be answered," he said during a news conference on a separate issue in Langley, B.C. 

Sixty-four-year-old Blair Donnelly has been charged with three counts of aggravated assault and remains in custody after Sunday's attack at the Light Up Chinatown! festival. 

Donnelly stabbed his teenage daughter Stephanie to death in 2006. He was found not criminally responsible by reason of mental disorder and sent to B.C.'s Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Coquitlam.

Eby said the review board report clearly concluded the man was a significant risk and shouldn't be let out, but somehow between that decision and the attack in Chinatown, he was given day release from the facility.  

The premier said he wants Rich to also find out if there are other people under similar circumstances who may also be out on day passes from the hospital. 

"Which is a very disturbing question to ask, but a necessary one to ask, given the unthinkable happened in this case already."

A copy of the review board decision was leaked to media, including CHEK News and CityNews. It says Donnelly remained a “significant threat” to the public.

The decision says that since being originally detained at the hospital, Donnelly had stabbed a friend while on day release in 2009 after they consumed cocaine together for several hours. He was convicted of assault.

Then, in 2017, it says Donnelly attacked a fellow patient at the hospital with a butter knife and was found not criminally responsible for the assault.

The April 2023 decision posted online by CHEK says Donnelly required “significant supervision to ensure he does not cause further harm to the public.”

However, the decision added that "reintegration" of Donnelly "could reasonably occur" within eight months of the decision.

Eby said Rich will also have the opportunity to look at why the public didn't have the information about the review board's case, which he said is also troubling. 

"But it, to be honest, pales in comparison to how disturbed I am that this man was released and unaccompanied and in our community." 

The premier said he has confidence in Rich's ability, and the terms of reference for the work is being sorted out now and they'll ensure he has the authority and the staff to "dig into this."

The review board said in an email that parties to the April decision were being given until Friday to apply for it to be withheld from the media.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Banff Gondola guest says company didn't appear to have a plan when it broke down

Banff Gondola guest says company didn't appear to have a plan when it broke down
Pala Kovacs says she had finished taking photos of the couple, who had eloped in Banff that day, and they were planning to take the gondola back down when they heard it wasn't operating. Kovacs says she had her photography gear and the couple was in their wedding outfits, so they spent about 15 hours at the top until they could be helped off the mountain by helicopter the next morning.

Banff Gondola guest says company didn't appear to have a plan when it broke down

All evacuation orders lifted around Osoyoos as wildfire no longer spreading

All evacuation orders lifted around Osoyoos as wildfire no longer spreading
More than 130 properties in or around the southern Okanagan community have been evacuated since the fire jumped the border on July 29, but the orders have been eased as the BC Wildfire Service says the blaze is no longer likely to spread.  

All evacuation orders lifted around Osoyoos as wildfire no longer spreading

Ottawa police identify 15 suspects in storming of Senegalese Embassy

Ottawa police identify 15 suspects in storming of Senegalese Embassy
Ottawa police are asking for help identifying 15 people accused of storming the Embassy of Senegal. The Senegalese Embassy says in a statement that people violently took over the premises, causing serious damage to the consular section and hurting staff and visitors.

Ottawa police identify 15 suspects in storming of Senegalese Embassy

Man and his dog attacked by racoons

Man and his dog attacked by racoons
Jake Moss says he and his dog Pingu were walking down West 1st Avenue when the dog stopped to sniff the bushes and the raccoons pounced. Pingu lost an eye in the attack and Moss was treated in hospital, where fragments of raccoon tooth were removed from his puncture wounds.

Man and his dog attacked by racoons

Census workers logged hundreds of cases of violence, harassment by public: documents

Census workers logged hundreds of cases of violence, harassment by public: documents
Statistics Canada documents show workers who went door-to-door to collect data for the 2021 census logged hundreds of workplace injuries and at least 15 assaults by members of the public. The data tables obtained by The Canadian Press under access-to-information law list 680 injury reports, including more than 280 cases of harassment or violence.   

Census workers logged hundreds of cases of violence, harassment by public: documents

Terms of new contract that resolved British Columbia port dispute are released

Terms of new contract that resolved British Columbia port dispute are released
The terms of the new contract are being shared by the Canada Industrial Relations Board, highlighting how the two sides finally got to together following months-long dispute, which included a disruptive 13-day strike.

Terms of new contract that resolved British Columbia port dispute are released