Man charged after attack on stranger in Vancouver apartment hallway

Police cars are seen parked outside Vancouver Police Department headquarters in Vancouver, on Saturday, January 9, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Vancouver police say a 34-year-old man has been charged after he allegedly attacked a woman in an apartment hallway last week in the city’s Oakridge neighbourhood.

Police responded to the residential building near Ash Street and West 41^st Avenue at around 9 a.m. on Jan. 8 after a witness reported a man assaulting a woman in the hall.

Neighbours reportedly heard the commotion and rushed to the woman’s aid, apprehending the suspect and holding him until police arrived.

The Vancouver Police Department says the victim, who is identified as a woman in her 60s, was treated for injuries in hospital.

“Investigators believe the man and woman are unknown to each other,” the department said in a statement Monday.

Court records indicate Sanket Sanjay Karve, born in 1991, was arrested on Jan. 8 and charged with one count of assault causing bodily harm.

Karve was released from police custody with his next court appearance scheduled for Feb. 2.