A 30-year-old man from Surrey has been charged in connection with a fatal stranger attack in Vancouver’s Chinatown.
The Vancouver Police Department said in a press release that the suspect was charged following a five-week-long investigation.
Nikolai Sugak, 32, was discovered “gravely injured” near West Pender and Carrall streets after midnight on February 6. Despite receiving emergency medical attention, he lost his life a short time later.
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According to police, Sugak was believed to be stabbed by a stranger in the nearby Shanghai Alley before he walked out into the street and collapsed.
“The violent offence caused significant concern about crime and public safety in the neighbourhood,” VPD Constable Tania Visintin said in a statement.
“Our homicide team worked quickly to collect key evidence that led to the arrest of the suspect, and we hope this arrest will restore a sense of ease in the area.”
According to Visintin, there is no evidence that Sugak and the suspect knew each other.
The VPD has named the suspect as 30-year-old Jaal Routh Kueth. The BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of second-degree murder against Kueth, who hails from Surrey, in connection with the attack.
Kueth currently remains in custody.
#VPDNews: Jaal Routh Kueth, 30, has been charged in the February 6 murder of Nikolai Sugak in Chinatown. Investigators believe the two men were strangers. Koueth remains in custody. https://t.co/hisX4xAy8Z pic.twitter.com/vYklMkyK9D
— Vancouver Police (@VancouverPD) March 17, 2023