Vancouver police investigate '40-minute crime spree' that included assaults of women in Fairview area

Vancouver police say residents of an apartment building in the city's Fairview neighbourhood were traumatized when a man went on a "40-minute crime spree" that targeted multiple women. 

The attacks began around noon Saturday, with multiple officers responding to a spate of assaults on women in and near the apartment building on West 10th Avenue, near Oak Street. 

"I was at home and I heard a crash of glass," said Karen MacDonald, a resident of the building, as she stood outside the entrance Sunday afternoon. "A guy went running down the hall, kicked in a window and ... two girls were coming out, he chased them and picked up a shard of glass saying, 'I'm going to kill you.'"

Const. Tania Visintin said a 38-year-old man was arrested at the scene in "possible psychosis." She said police believe he only targeted women, including one woman in her car outside, and several joggers who attempted to seek shelter inside the apartment building until the alleged attacker broke the entrance's glass.

"According to witness accounts he was running by men on the street and his targets were females," Visintin told reporters a day after the incident. "These were unprovoked attacks.

"They would have been terrifying for these victims, absolutely terrifying ... You can imagine the trauma they would have been left with."

She said police are hoping more witnesses come forward as they continue to investigate. Police plan to recommend charges early this week.

Visintin also said the incident left "thousands of dollars in property damage during a 40-minute crime spree." On Sunday, piles of broken glass were seen at the building's entrance, as well as on the corner of Oak Street.

Among those targeted, police said the suspect banged on a vehicle outside the building with a woman inside, making "shooting gestures" and trying to open the door.

Soon after, the suspect allegedly grabbed another woman walking nearby by the hair and punched her. When she escaped with the help of a bystander, whom police are still hoping to speak with, she and several women jogging past were chased "through the hallways and stairwells of the building" as the suspect allegedly threatened them with a "large piece of broken glass," Visintin said.

MacDonald said the incident has left her in near-constant tears and shattered her sense of safety at home.

"I feel horrid, I feel very violated," she said. "I feel like you're safe in your own home, and this place is really safe."

Police arrested the suspect outside the building after what they described as a "brief struggle."