A North Vancouver man is in hospital in a medically induced coma after he was doused with camp fuel and set on fire during an argument with another man over the weekend.
The two men got into an altercation at about 4 p.m. Saturday, following an all-day drinking session at a homeless camp near the 700-block of Old Lillooet Road, according to police. As the argument escalated, one of the men, a 34-year-old North Vancouver resident, allegedly poured camp fuel on the other and set him alight. The 56-year-old victim suffered burns to 50 per cent of his body.
Two other men witnessed the incident, and one of them used a cellphone to call for help. Paramedics and fire crews were first on the scene and rushed the victim to Lions Gate Hospital in an extreme amount of pain, according to Cpl. Richard De Jong of the North Vancouver RCMP.
The suspect had fled by the time police arrived, but investigators found and arrested him within 24 hours of the attack. The RCMP are recommending a charge of attempted murder.
Police found a tent and makeshift camp near where the attack happened on a grassy field west of the nearby Holiday Inn, but dont know if the victim or the suspect had been living there or how long the camp had been in place.
The North Vancouver RCMP had not received any other complaints about the camp before this attack, said De Jong.
Its amazing how things can go undetected for days and weeks sometimes, said De Jong.
On Monday, the Province newspaper reported that the area has been a homeless encampment for several years, and that the victim had been living on the site for around a year.
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