Vancouver Police have made another arrest in connection with a spate of shootings in the Downtown Eastside earlier this week.

Joseph Bassett, a 29-year-old with no fixed address, has now been charged with two counts of attempted murder and multiple weapons offences.

“Dozens of VPD investigators have worked relentlessly to gather evidence and solve these crimes. We are working to restore a sense of safety in the community,” says Constable Steve Addison, VPD. “We will continue to work day and night to combat violent crime and protect vulnerable residents in the area.”

VPD officers responded around 6 p.m. on September 22 after shots were fired near East Pender and Abbott streets, injuring a 28-year old man from Langley and a 25-year-old man from Surrey. It was one of three shootings in the Downtown Eastside over a 15-hour period, and it came just days after VPD renewed concerns about violent crime in Oppenheimer Park and the Downtown Eastside.

Bassett was arrested in Vancouver yesterday without incident and is in custody. The arrest comes just three days after VPD arrested 26-year-old Joseph Brown and 31-year-old Desirae Cardinal for a shooting near the Grand Union Hotel on September 23. A third shooting, which occurred near Hastings Street and Dunlevy Avenue on September 22, is still under investigation.

“Each of these shootings appears targeted and gang-related,” says Const. Addison. “We are still investigating any and all connections between the three incidents, and we need anyone with information to do the right thing and come forward.”

Anyone with additional information is asked to call the VPD Major Crime Section at 604-717-2500 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.