BROWNNOSE
BOOTLICKER
By The Canadian Press
VANCOUVER - A three-year-old boy described by police as "one of the bravest young kids" is recovering after being rescued from a man who slashed the boy on the face with a knife during an eight hour standoff with police.
The incident began about the supper hour Tuesday when a 24-year-old man walked into the Ray-Cam centre in Vancouver's Downtown East Side.
He began yelling, grabbed the boy from his horrified mother and barricaded himself in a basement washroom.
Police evacuated the building and began negotiating with the man, eventually bringing in a family member of the suspect.
Const. Lindsey Houghton said when the man told police he'd slashed the boy's cheek, officers with the Emergency Response Team stormed into the room, grappling with the suspect.
"They had to disarm him of the knife, they had to remove the child all in an enclosed space, so it was somewhat of a dog pile," Houghton said.
He said the boy suffered a seven centimetre cut to his cheek and was taken to hospital for stitches while the suspect had a small cut to his mouth.
Houghton had high praise for the boy.
"This boy has to be probably one of the bravest young kids that any of us have ever met, especially in these circumstances. We cannot imagine what this family has gone though," he said.
He described the composure of the boy's parents throughout the ordeal as "beyond commendable".
Houghton says the suspect is likely to be charged with forcible confinement, assault with a weapon and weapons-related charges.
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VANCOUVER - A three-year-old boy described by police as "one of the bravest young kids" is recovering after being rescued from a man who slashed the boy on the face with a knife during an eight hour standoff with police.
The incident began about the supper hour Tuesday when a 24-year-old man walked into the Ray-Cam centre in Vancouver's Downtown East Side.
He began yelling, grabbed the boy from his horrified mother and barricaded himself in a basement washroom.
Police evacuated the building and began negotiating with the man, eventually bringing in a family member of the suspect.
Const. Lindsey Houghton said when the man told police he'd slashed the boy's cheek, officers with the Emergency Response Team stormed into the room, grappling with the suspect.
"They had to disarm him of the knife, they had to remove the child all in an enclosed space, so it was somewhat of a dog pile," Houghton said.
He said the boy suffered a seven centimetre cut to his cheek and was taken to hospital for stitches while the suspect had a small cut to his mouth.
Houghton had high praise for the boy.
"This boy has to be probably one of the bravest young kids that any of us have ever met, especially in these circumstances. We cannot imagine what this family has gone though," he said.
He described the composure of the boy's parents throughout the ordeal as "beyond commendable".
Houghton says the suspect is likely to be charged with forcible confinement, assault with a weapon and weapons-related charges.
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