Man charged after alleged stranger attack with weapon in downtown Vancouver

A 49-year-old man has been charged after an alleged stranger attack with a weapon in downtown Vancouver on Tuesday, police say.

William Pitt faces one count of assault with a weapon and one count of assault causing bodily harm, the Vancouver Police Department said Wednesday. Police say a woman was walking near Hastings and Seymour streets at about 11 a.m. when a man she did not know approached her and allegedly struck her in the abdomen before leaving the area. A witness followed the suspect and called 911.

Police located and arrested the suspect nearby. The woman was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to VPD. Pitt was detained following a bail hearing and remains in custody. Online court records list his next appearance for Friday in Vancouver provincial court.

B.C.'s Court Services Online database lists a man with the same name and date of birth as having been sentenced for assault on Sept. 9, six days before Tuesday's incident. That case began with an Aug. 4 charge of assault causing bodily harm; the accused was convicted of the lesser offence of assault and sentenced to one day in jail followed by 12 months of probation.