Stabbing with 'dirty' needle leads to aggravated assault charge: Vancouver police

A syringe is seen in this undated file photo. (AP / Donovan Quintero)

Vancouver — A woman in her 30s has been charged in what Vancouver police previously described as a stranger attack with a "dirty" needle.

Cathleen Cunningham was charged Monday with aggravated assault.

The charge against the 35-year-old comes nearly two weeks after the incident in the city's Chinatown area.

Police said a 23-year-old woman was stabbed with the hypodermic needle as she left a coffee shop near Abbott and East Pender Streets on Oct. 27.

Investigators said they believed the woman was followed out of the café then confronted, before being stabbed in the leg.

In a news release on Oct. 28, Sgt. Steve Addison said the assault seemed to be random and unprovoked.

The victim called police immediately, Addison said, and a suspect known to police was arrested a short time later.

Officers did not provide an update on the victim's condition Monday, but said last month that the victim's health was of concern because police didn't know what substance had been in the needle.