Police recommending assault charges after stranger attack on Sunshine Coast

The RCMP logo is seen in Surrey, B.C., on Thursday, March 16, 2023. (Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press)

Police on the Sunshine Coast say they are recommending assault charges against a man they apprehended under the provincial Mental Health Act over the weekend.

Sunshine Coast RCMP said they received a report of an unprovoked assault in the parking lot of a grocery store in the 1100 block of Sunshine Coast Highway in Gibsons around 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

The complainant was leaving the store with his young child when he was “approached by an unknown male who began yelling,” then punched him several times in the face, the detachment said in a news release Tuesday.

The victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police added.

Officers found the suspect nearby, in the 1000 block of Seamount Way, and attempted to arrest him.

“During the arrest, the male was unco-operative and displayed erratic behavior indicating a mental health crisis, putting himself and others at risk,” the release reads. “Officers were able to safely de-escalate the situation and apprehend him under the Mental Health Act. The male was also arrested for assault. He was transported to hospital for medical attention.”

Police asked anyone who witnessed the incident to contact them at 604-885-2266 and reference file number 2025-7850.