VANCOUVER - A sword attack in east Vancouver Wednesday night left a 19-year-old man dead and three men in police custody.

Vancouver police Const. Brian Montague said Thursday that the dead man, who police suspect has ties to drug traffickers, was specifically targeted by his attackers.

"There's nothing for the . . . public to be concerned about," Montague said of the city's first homicide of 2013.

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Montague said police received a call about 10:30 p.m. saying a group of men were fighting in the street in the 6300-block of Elgin near East 47th Avenue, with weapons including swords and bats.

Officers found the young man with severe injuries that appeared to be caused by a sword. He was taken to hospital by ambulance where he was pronounced dead.

According to an emergency services report at 1:15 a.m., one man was found "partially decapitated," but Montague could not confirm the nature of the injuries.

Five men between the ages of 19 and 21 were arrested Wednesday night. Two were later released; three remained in custody Thursday afternoon. No charges have been laid.

Four of the men were arrested when they went to Vancouver General Hospital for treatment for a range of injuries. The fifth man was arrested near 41st Street.

"It's our belief that they were all involved in the attack at Elgin at 47th, but what their roles were is still unclear," said Montague.

Vancouver police officers made several arrests outside a downtown building on Hornby Street Thursday afternoon. The arrests are believed to be in connection with Wednesday night's murder, though no VPD media officer was available to comment.

Montague said there was no immediate indication that the attack involved gangs or was linked to the recent uptick in shootings in Metro Vancouver.

"We're still trying to determine exactly what happened last night. The stories are all a little convoluted with so many people being involved," he said.

At the scene early Thursday, police had cordoned off a block of Elgin at 47th Avenue while the force's forensic identification unit searched for evidence. The investigators were also examining a silver Honda Pilot SUV parked in the middle of Elgin with a smashed back window and the passenger side door left open. It and another vehicle were later towed away.

Montague could not confirm reports the victim was forced out of the SUV before he was swarmed by the group of men.

At one of the houses behind police tape, officers draped white sheets on the doorstep and front yard of a burgundy-coloured home.

Manpreet Pandhar, 20, said he has lived in the neighbourhood for 10 years and has never heard of any violence happening in the "really quiet" area.

"My brother was out walking the dog around 10:45 and he said there were police cars everywhere and they've got everything taped off and that something was going down," he said, adding he did not hear any gunshots or screaming.

He said it is very unsettling to hear that a killing happened so close to his house.

Sukhvir Dhaliwal, who lives in a house on the corner of Elgin and 47th, said he was just getting ready for bed around 10:30 p.m. when his young daughter came into his bedroom and told him there were flashing lights outside. He went outside and saw a man on a stretcher being put in an ambulance in front of a neighbouring house.

He doesn't know the people who live in the house, but said there hasn't been any trouble there before.

"This is scary. We have young kids. It makes you worried, right? I've been here a long time, more than 10 years and I've never seen anything like this."

ticrawford@vancouversun.com

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