There has been another alleged stranger attack in downtown Vancouver, this time targeting a female tourist.
Vancouver police say the assault happened at about 9 a.m. Sunday, near the Waterfront Station SkyTrain terminal on Howe Street.
Police said the defenceless woman was punched in the head, knocked to the ground and kicked repeatedly, her injuries requiring hospitalization.
Security cameras captured the incident and police arrested Massimo Falvo, 30, at a rooming house on Pender Street just a few hours later. He’s now charged with aggravated assault and remains behind bars.
Falvo is well known to police.
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“He was on probation at the time of this offence for similar offences that occurred in the past,” Vancouver police Sgt. Steve Addison said.
In 2024 Falvo was convicted of assaulting four different people.
All the incidents involved individuals being punched in the head. The BC Prosecution Service confirmed he received a sentence of three years probation and one day in custody, taking into account 22 days of pre-sentencing custody.
Even Falvo was surprised, posting “3 years probation for 4 separate assault charges. I’m lucky I didn’t go to jail” on social media.
“There’s an expectation in the community that if a person is arrested once twice three times and now four times for serious offences, violent unprovoked stranger attacks that there will be meaningful consequences,” Addison told Global News.
Massimo Falvo is due back in court Wednesday morning.
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.