VANCOUVER -- The Crown has approved charges against a 33-year-old Vancouver man suspected in a series of random stabbings and attacks against seven people in a bizarre incident at a West End apartment building Thursday evening.

Jerome Bonneric appeared in B.C. Provincial Court Friday, facing 12 assault charges including aggravated assault, assault with a weapon and assaulting a police officer.

Two victims remain in hospital, one in stable condition and the other “in very serious condition,” said Vancouver police spokesman Sgt. Randy Fincham.

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The incident happened at 1263 Barclay St. around 6:45 p.m. and was described by Fincham as a “very vicious, very serious attack.”

Police believe Bonneric, who remains in custody, was staying with a friend in the building at the time of the attacks.

Peter Vandenberg, 39, who lives in the seven-storey apartment building, said it is “a fairly close-knit community,” with young families and a mix of older people and younger residents.

A Facebook profile under the name Jerome Bonneric says he is from Paris, France, with a background in real estate consulting. A LinkedIn profile under that name states that Bonneric has worked as a business consultant for a French bakery in the Vancouver area since May 2011.

At another site, a comment attributed to his name indicates Bonneric works as a sales manager at a Port Coquitlam bakery.

The victims range in age from their 20s to 60s and didn’t appear to know one another, Fincham said. One officer was injured in the arrest, Fincham said, but was treated at the scene.

Fincham called the attacks random stabbings, but would not confirm several witness reports that the suspect allegedly used a hammer.

Vandenberg was returning from the grocery store with his partner around 7 p.m. when the incident was unfolding. They had come from the underground parkade by elevator to their fourth-floor apartment when they heard screams and commotion from the floors below.

“We could hear people running through the building, through the different floors,” he said. “I remember one of the owners yelling from the balcony that he has a hammer, like he’s crazy, like he’s out of control.”

Vandenberg said graphic evidence of the struggle remained overnight on the floor, the wall “and some of the doors as well.

“This morning I noticed there was lots of blood in the entranceway and the stairwells had some blood as well.”

Lawrence Miklossy, who lives on the main floor, was among several residents who were away from the building when the incident occurred. He had to wait for forensic teams to finish investigating the scene, and spent the night in his car on Burrard Street.

When he was allowed back in at 5:30 a.m., he said, “There was a blood stain about the size of a pie plate near the door to go out to the elevator on the first floor.”

Others who were in the building during the attacks had to stay in their units until morning.

Bonneric will remain in custody until his next court appearance on Monday morning, Fincham said.

with files from the Canadian Press

creynolds@vancouversun.com

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