He managed to escape and hide at a nearby park until friends came to help and called 9-1-1 for him

An 18-year-old man says he was attacked by strangers in Deep Cove while walking home from a party

DEEP COVE (NEWS 1130) – Police have little information after a sudden, violent and seemingly random attack on a young man in Deep Cove.

His mother, who we are identifying only as Caroline, tells NEWS 1130 her 18-year-old son was attacked by two strangers when he turned down a wooded pathway he’d used countless times.

Then he heard someone yell “Hey!”

“So he was called out and he turned, and when he turned, people started to punch him,” Caroline says. “More than one person, from what he says, because of how fast the punches were coming.”

The victim was unable to see anything in the dark, unlit area and said he didn’t recognize any voices. His mother says he fought back and was able to escape, running to hide in a nearby park.

Sgt. Peter DeVries, media spokesperson for the North Vancouver RCMP, says police haven’t identified any suspects.

“There are no people he can think of who would have had a grudge against him or who would want to do this,” he says. “At this point we have no leads on who might have been responsible.”

Walking home from a family gathering

The victim and his mom had been at a family friend’s house for a party on Sat. May 25. His mom had called a cab a few hours earlier and headed home, leaving her son at the party where he planned to spend the night.

“I waited 45 minutes for a cab. There were just no cabs that night,” she says.

Her son changed his mind about sleeping over and decided to head home to say goodbye to his grandmother, who was visiting but leaving the next morning.

He walked from the Blueridge neighbourhood until reaching the 200 metre shortcut that connects Lima Street to Deep Cove Road.

That’s where he was jumped and beaten. He was left with injuries to his face and swelling in his hands from fighting back.

He managed to escape and hide at a nearby park until friends came to help and called 9-1-1 and his parents.

“I ran to the ambulance because I didn’t know what shape he would be in,” Caroline remembers.

“His nose was swollen, his lip was cut, his right eye was quite swollen and his hands were swollen too because obviously he hit something too, when he was hitting back.”

She says her son is still processing his trauma and unable to speak much about what happened.

NEWS 1130 has agreed not to identify the family involved. Police don’t have any suspects in mind, and no information on a motive.

“We don’t actually know at this point what the cause of these two people assaulting this young man is,” Devries says.