Brendan Colin McBride, 34, has been charged with aggravated assault and second-degree murder in connection to a pair of attacks in downtown Vancouver on Wednesday that left one man dead and another with a severed hand.
The charges were sworn by Crown prosecutors Thursday afternoon.
McBride appeared in court on a separate charge Thursday. He was wearing a grey sweatshirt and sweatpants in the prisoner’s box of a Vancouver provincial courtroom. At one point McBride sat on the ground and later released a wordless wail.
Vancouver police said around 7:40 a.m. PT Wednesday they received reports of a man who had been attacked near Cathedral Square at Richards Street and Dunsmuir Street.
Officers found a man in his 50s who had been attacked with a knife, was bleeding from this head, and had one hand severed.
VPD said he was taken to hospital for emergency treatment and is expected to survive.
Less than 10 minutes later, officers were called to West Georgia Street and Hamilton Street after a second man was attacked outside the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. First responders were unable to save the man’s life.
Police say they arrested the suspect shortly afterwards at Habitat Island near Olympic Village. He remains in custody.
The homicide victim has been identified by police as 70-year-old Francis David Laporte.
Police did not release the name of the man who survived the attack, citing privacy concerns. He remains in hospital after undergoing surgery.
McBride’s next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 18.