Editor’s Note: Police say the suspect was arrested on October 8 in Mission, BC. He remains in custody.
Vancouver police are again on the hunt for a suspect accused of attacking two strangers with a machete in the Downtown Eastside in the spring after recently being granted a bail release and immediately breaching his conditions.
The Downtown Eastside machete attack occurred on June 19 this year during a violent weekend that saw several other unprovoked assaults.
A VPD patrol officer was flagged in front of the Empress Hotel after a stranger reportedly attacked two people while loading luggage into a waiting taxi.
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Both of the victims required hospitalization for significant injuries.
Kenneth Stephen Solowan, 37, is now wanted BC-wide after disappearing from the residential treatment facility he had been ordered to remain in Surrey.
Police have released a new photograph of Solowan.
VPD
VPD said that Solowan is charged with two counts of aggravated assault for the unprovoked attack on the two people who were in the process of loading their luggage at the Empress near Main and Hastings streets.
Police initially arrested Solowan on August 10 and he had been in custody until September 29, when he was granted bail by the courts and disappeared.
While Solowan’s whereabouts are currently unknown, police say he has been known to spend time in Chinatown and the Downtown Eastside.
Solowan is approximately 5’9″ and 180 pounds with gray hair and brown eyes.
Anyone who sees Solowan is asked to call 911 immediately and not approach him.
Earlier this year, the BC government unveiled its plan to tackle repeat offenders in the province, which you can read more about here.