British Columbia Premier David Eby expressed his intense anger regarding the release of a man from a forensic psychiatric hospital before he committed a triple stabbing in Vancouver’s Chinatown. Eby was baffled by the decision to release the man and is determined to investigate the circumstances surrounding it. The government plans to appoint an independent individual to examine the details of the case and the decision-making process that led to this tragic incident.
Eby emphasized that steps are already being taken to address the situation. The suspect, Blair Evan Donnelly, 64 years old, has been charged with three counts of aggravated assault and is currently in custody following the attack at the Light Up Chinatown! festival. Notably, Donnelly had previously been found not criminally responsible for killing his teenage daughter in 2006 due to a mental disorder. Despite being sent to a psychiatric hospital, he was released in 2009 and went on to harm someone else. Shockingly, he was released once again prior to the recent attack.
The premier expressed his anger and frustration over the fact that Donnelly was allowed to roam freely in the community, thus compromising the safety and hard work of the residents. The incident occurred just minutes before the conclusion of a community celebration in Chinatown, where significant resources had been invested. Eby finds it incomprehensible that a person who had previously committed such a heinous crime could be released multiple times and carry out yet another violent act. He vowed to seek justice for the victims, their families, and all others affected by the stabbing, and to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
During the attack, a man and woman in their 60s, as well as a woman in her 20s, sustained severe but non-life-threatening injuries.