Police share photo of masked suspect in Port Coquitlam stranger assault

From Jan. 14: Mounties are seeking witnesses and surveillance video after someone was seriously injured in an alleged assault with a weapon in Port Coquitlam.

Mounties in Port Coquitlam have released a photo of the person they suspect committed a violent assault in the city earlier this month.

In the photo, the suspect can be seen wearing a black mask covering most of their face. The suspect is wearing what appears to be a blue camouflage hoodie or jacket with a black vest over it, and the hood is up.

Coquitlam RCMP shared the image in a news release Wednesday, saying the person pictured allegedly assaulted another person with a weapon during an “altercation” in the 2800 block of Shaughnessy Street around 11:45 a.m. on Jan. 12.

Mounties did not specify the type of weapon used or the gender of the suspect.

Police have previously said the two people involved in the incident did not know each other. The victim was taken to hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.

“Investigators were able to trace the suspect’s movements prior to the altercation, placing the suspect near Lougheed Highway and Como Lake Avenue in Coquitlam at approximately 11 a.m.,” the RCMP’s Wednesday release reads.

After the altercation, the suspect fled north on Shaughnessy Street and was last seen near Coquitlam Avenue and Flint Street around noon, according to police.

“Our officers are working diligently to identify the suspect in this alleged assault, and we need the public’s assistance,” said Acting Cpl. George Han, in the release.

“We are urging anyone who may have information about this assault, or who can identify the suspect, to contact our investigators.”

Anyone with information should call Coquitlam RCMP at 604-945-1550 and quote file number 2026-931, police said.