An unhoused person is recovering from injuries after they say they were attacked while asleep outside a coffee shop over the weekend.
Leo Perry, who has been a resident in the Fairview neighbourhood for eight years tells CityNews that he was taken to hospital from his injuries.
“They (the police) brought me to the hospital when they realized how badly injured I was, and I cannot defend myself,” he said.
Perry was sleeping outside a coffee shop at West Broadway and Granville on Sunday, July 14 when someone attacked him around 6 p.m.
He was not able to see who did it, and says when the police arrived they thought he was the suspect, before taking him to the hospital.
“(My) thumb might be fractured. My teeth are cracked and you can see what’s on my face. I got an injury right here, and here. Somebody did a good number on me. And this was injured [pointing to leg]. I was completely fine yesterday,” he said.
In the last eight years of residency in the neighbourhood, Perry has never experienced this kind of violence.
Perry’s leg is in a cast, pants are covered with dry blood, and his right hand is swollen. He also has an injury below his lip and above his left eye. His left eye is also visibly bruised.
A spokesperson of the Union Gospel Mission Sarah Chew says they have seen several incidents in the past few years against unhoused people.
She says these attacks are disturbing, but not surprising.
“There was a man in 2021 who was run over and pepper sprayed, just because he was experiencing homelessness. There was a woman a few years ago, who was doused with flammable liquid and set on fire while she was sleeping outside,” she told CityNews.
Chew says they do not support any form of violence.
“We condemn the use of any assault, any violence on our communities who are already facing so much turmoil and stress every day. Someone’s level of housing doesn’t equate to how much respect or dignity they reserve,” she said.
Perry, while injured is still in good spirits, says he has friends in the neighbourhood who continue to look out for him.
“I’ve got plenty of respect out here and nobody is going to let anything happen to me,” he said. “I don’t wish anything wrong against the person that would ever dare to do this to me.”
The Vancouver Police has not responded to CityNew’s inquiries on this incident yet.
-With files from Catherine Garrett.