A Canadian TikTok user and Vancouver visitor went viral after she claimed that a man tried to kill her in a stranger attack; now the accused has been released from custody.
The victim was Supitssteph, whose TikTok profile says she’s from Toronto.
As of this publication, her TikTok video about the attack has garnered nearly 7 million views.
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Daily Hive contacted the Vancouver Police Department about the incident, and it shared some details.
The accused is named Peterhans Jalo Nungu, and he was charged with assault causing bodily harm. Vancouver Police also shared that the attack occurred at 12:30 a.m. in Coal Harbour.
The TikTok user, named Stephanie, said that she had been walking near Stanley Park when the assault happened, adding that she believes the area is considered safe for most people.
@supitssteph Replying to @Sarah how a completely random stranger tried to kill me š #vanccouver #womenempowerment #fight ā¬ original sound – Stephanie
“I was on the Seawall, just walking,” she said, both eyes visibly bruised.
She added that someone said something to her, and she didn’t know what he said. She claimed that, before she knew it, the suspect charged at her. She believed he was going to kill her.
“He slammed me into the ground.”
We’ve also obtained additional details about the accused. He was released from custody on April 23 at 1:50 p.m. According to B.C. court records, Nungu has a court appearance on May 20 this year.
The B.C Prosecution Service told Daily Hive that he was released under house arrest conditions.
Someone with the same name also has an additional charge in Surrey, including assaulting a peace officer, uttering threats and uttering threats to burn, destroy or damage. Those charges were laid just two days before the charges in Vancouver against the Toronto TikTok user.
Nungu is turning 40 years old this year.
Recent Vancouver stranger attack history
LeonWang/Shutterstock
Over the last several years, Vancouver has seen its share of violent stranger attacks, and in some cases, those stranger attacks have proved to be fatal.
In 2021, VPD revealed that four people were randomly attacked per day in Vancouver.
Between the fall of 2021 and the spring of 2022, several people were stabbed with hypodermic needles in stranger attacks.
In July 2022, Vancouver Police revealed that a man who had lost his life in a fatal stabbing was the victim of a stranger attack. Last September, charges were laid in gruesome stranger attacks that took place near Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Following that incident, VPD Chief Adam Palmer said that crime rates were decreasing and assured Vancouverites that they live in a “safe city.”
When Palmer announced his retirement in February of this year, he cited other stats suggesting that crime was going down, including violent crime, which was down 7 percent.
We connected with Kash Heed, a former Vancouver Police officer who served with the VPD for over thirty years and as Chief Constable with the West Vancouver Police Department. We asked Heed about the incident.
“Appalling that we have individuals in our public spaces that have the propensity to do this at any given time,” he said.
He also called the fact that the suspect was released troubling.
We also asked Kash about the frequency and intensity of stranger attacks when he was a police officer compared to now. While he thinks the frequency has increased, he also feels that the police department’s tendency to share these crimes with the public has increased.
We have reached out to the victim for comment.