The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) is turning to the public for help amid its investigation into what police describe as two incidents of mischief at the Chinese consulate.
The first took place on Monday, March 22, when a man reportedly parked his dark-coloured Ford Escape in front the consulate, located near Granville Street and West 16th Avenue, approached the front gate and spat on a plaque dedicated to the Chinese Consular General. According to police, the suspect then tossed an "unknown white substance from a take-out cup" on the same plaque, before using a hammer to hit the plaque and work to pry it off the wall.
The suspect turned his sights on a consulate employee who was trying to leave the building in a vehicle, police said. The man allegedly blocked the staff member's car and spat on the vehicle, all while verbally berating the driver. The suspect, who police said appears to be in his 70s with a thin build and white hair, eventually left the area travelling north on Granville Street in the Ford Escape.
He was wearing a dark jacket, dark pants, dark shoes and a dark baseball cap at the time, according to the VPD.
In a second incident less than two weeks later, on April 4, another man walked up to the front gate of the Chinese consulate at around 3 a.m., spray-painting graffiti on the gate and wall of the building. Surveillance footage shows the man heading north on Granville Street as he left the scene.
Police described the suspect in this case as white with a heavy build, and approximately 30 to 40 years old. He was observed to be wearing dark pants, a grey hooded sweater with a black “Batman” logo on the chest and dark shoes at the time.
"Investigators do not believe the same man is responsible for both crimes,” said VPD Const. Tania Visintin in a release. Police are asking for the public's assistance in identifying both suspects.
“These are such disrespectful and intolerable acts,” Visintin added.
The VPD's plea comes following a marked increase in anti-Asian hate crime across the city over the last year. Vancouver police reported a 717 per cent rise in anti-Asian hate crime in 2020 compared with 2019, with the majority of incidents taking place last May.
The city has reportedly experienced 15 such incidents since the start of this year.
Earlier this week, the City of Vancouver issued a statement reiterating that the Lower Mainland is no place for racism after American news network Bloomberg called the city the 'Anti-Asian Hate Crime Capital of North America.'
Police ask anyone with information linked to these incidents to call VPD Property Crime detectives at 604-717-0613 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 for those wishing to remain anonymous.
- With files from Nick Wells/The Canadian Press and Brendan Kergin
