VANCOUVER — A 32-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder following a fatal stabbing outside a Vancouver Starbucks.
Police say the stabbing happened Sunday after a brief altercation between two men outside the coffee shop in the city's downtown core.
Investigators say they don't believe the victim and suspect knew each other but the details of what led up to the stabbing are still under investigation.
Police say in a statement that a constable patrolling in the area was flagged down moments after the stabbing and arrested the suspect at the scene.
Other officers attempted to help the victim, who has been identified as 37-year-old Paul Stanley Schmidt, but he died after being rushed to hospital.
Thirty-two-year-old Inderdeep Singh Gosal is accused of second-degree murder.
Vancouver Police Sgt. Steve Addison says investigators are hoping to speak to people who saw what happened.
“We believe this homicide was witnessed by dozens of bystanders, and there may be people with information who have not yet come forward,” he says in a statement.
“We particularly want to hear from anyone who was present in the moments before the stabbing, or anyone who has cellphone video of the incident.”
Schmidt's death is the city's sixth homicide of the year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2023.
The Canadian Press
