'How is this okay?' Woman and pet cat victims of random attack in Vancouver's Chinatown
Chinatown resident Angelina says she has never felt unsafe in her neighbourhood before, but a recent random attack on her and her pet cat, Leonard, has left her physically and emotionally scarred.
Angelina told Daily Hive that she and Leonard were outside on the front steps of their building on the evening of April 9.
She explained that when the weather gets nice, she spends a lot of time outside her apartment chatting with neighbours.
“In our apartment building, we have a pretty great community… It’s one of my favourite things about living here,” she stated.
Terrifying Chinatown attack caught on camera
That evening, Angelina said she noticed two teen girls sitting at a bus stop nearby, and another further down the street.
“They were yelling and swearing at each other. I wasn’t paying much attention, but one of them looked over and said, ‘What the f*ck are you looking at?’ I was confused and said, ‘Huh? Nothing.’ They were kids. Like, I’m old enough to be their mother,” she said.
Warning, the video below shows acts of violence which may be disturbing to some viewers:
What happened next was a real-life nightmare for Angelina and Leonard.
She said the two girls called their other friend over, and said, “Get back here, we’re gonna f*ck this b*tch up.”
“And that was it. The three of them circled me, and I tried to get back up the stairs to get inside my building. They surrounded me, and the rest gets very fuzzy. I remember yelling over and over, ‘Please stop, I have my cat.’ It’s hard to remember the details now,” noted Angelina.
Building security footage shows the girls swarming Angelina and throwing her to the ground, repeatedly hitting and punching her. Leonard can be seen trying to claw at the door, trying to escape. At one point, one of the girls appears to throw Leonard in the air, with Angelina managing to catch him.
During the three-minute video, some bystanders can be seen trying to step in and help Angelina, but the girls appear to attack them too. Angelina noted that one woman who tried to call 9-1-1 was also assaulted by the girls.
She added that her neighbour, who was sitting outside with her, tried to step in but was “pushed away.”
Angelina added that one of the suspects did try to stop her friends.
“Looking back at the video, I saw that one of the girls pulled her friend off me. She honestly probably saved my life. The one girl wasn’t going to stop. It’s off camera, and all you can see are my legs moving around, but that’s when the worst of it happened,” she added.
“I was being kicked in the head repeatedly, and you can see her friend realizing what was happening. She ran over and pulled her friend off me. It must have been hard for her to stand up to her friend, and I think she deserves some recognition for that. I hope she finds some better friends and doesn’t get charged.”
Mental, physical, and emotional wounds
Police arrived on the scene, and Angelina was transported to the hospital. The three girls were arrested.
In a statement to Daily Hive, VPD said that the attack is under investigation.
“A 40-year-old victim was assaulted by three people and required medical treatment for injuries,” stated VPD Sgt. Steve Addison. He confirmed that the victim and suspects did not know each other.
The suspects are 15, 16, and 17 years old.
“They have been released into the custody of their guardians pending a court appearance in June,” said Addison.
Describing her injuries, Angelina said she was left with a “black eye, deep bruises, whiplash, and staples in [her] head, concussion, [and] nerve damage.”
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The effects of the attack have lingered, leaving her with insomnia, nightmares, and shakes.
Leonard has suffered too.
Angelina said her beloved cat is “completely changed,” describing him as “scared, withdrawn, and aggressive” since the attack.
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“He was the kind of cat who’d run to the door to greet people. Now, he hides and hisses. He lashes out at his sister, Emi,” she said.
“He’s traumatized. I’m hoping he just needs some time. It breaks my heart that I can’t explain to him why this happened or how to fix it.”
A GoFundMe has since been set up to support Angelina and Leonard’s recovery journey. Angelina added that the BC SPCA has also opened a file for animal abuse.
“Honestly, that’s the only thing I care about,” Angelina explained. “People generally suck but cats should never be treated like that.”
Angelina’s cat, Leonard, was attacked in the assault. (Supplied)
The victim also expressed her gratitude for the VPD’s support and said the officers who helped her were “kind and compassionate.”
However, the release of her attackers has left her with serious concerns about the justice system.
“I get that they are underage and kids make mistakes, but that level of violence was shocking,” she said. “You hear that over and over in our neighbourhood. The same people being arrested and released countless times. How is this okay?”