Downtown Eastside homicide victim identified as 21-year-old man

Pedestrians cross East Hastings Street in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, on Thursday, June 13, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

A young man’s death in a Downtown Eastside laneway earlier this month has officially been deemed a homicide, Vancouver police say.

Paramedics were called to the 100 block of East Hastings Street for a “man in medical distress” around 7:40 a.m. on March 20, according to police.

Despite their efforts, the individual was pronounced deceased. Paramedics called police “due to the suspicious nature of his injuries” and the Vancouver Police Department’s homicide team took over the case.

In an update Tuesday, the VPD said what was first referred to as a “suspicious death” is now a homicide investigation.

The victim has been identified as 21-year-old Isaiah Elijah Hector Cecil-Johnny.

Police say he also went by Littlebird in the community.

The VPD asked anyone who interacted with Cecil-Johnny the evening of March 19 or early morning hours of March 20 to call the homicide unit at 604-717-2500.