A man who was injured in a string of unprovoked knife attack in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside Friday is sharing his story and asking for an apology from his attacker.

Gary Olver, a 50-year-old Cree artist who works in the community, was walking home from the library with his partner at dusk when a man approached them in an alley near East Hastings and Princess Avenue. The man lunged for Olver's neck with what appeared to be a box cutter.

"The guy tried to kill me. You don't go for somebody's throat unless you're meaning to end that person's life," Olver said.

The attacker ran, going on to injure three more people before being apprehended by police just before 9 p.m.

Olver and his partner went across the street to the Union Gospel Mission for help.

Ed Boe, a witness, phoned 911 while the pair went inside. Boe said that while "lots of crazy things" happen in the area, he's never heard of someone being approached by a stranger and slashed.

"He [Olver] was in, like, not shock but you could see he was scared," Boe said.

Inside, volunteers at the UGM with first aid training sprang into action.

UGM spokesperson Jeremy Hunka said that, miraculously, the wound wasn't deep. Perhaps it was because of the jacket Olver was wearing, he said.

"UGM is there to help. They want to jump in, they want to do whatever they can," he said. "Obviously, this is a really unusual thing. We would never expect to see this."

Olver said he had no idea what was going through the man's mind when he pulled the knife. At first, he said was shocked and confused that someone would attack him with no reason. But when he heard other people were involved, he realized the man must have "some issues."

Now, he hopes the assailant will apologize to his victims.

"This fellow, he needs some help," Olver said. "And I hope he gets the help, but I do want a public apology."

All four victims are expected to recover from their physical injures, according to Vancouver police.

Joshua Mennear, 23, is facing four counts of aggravated assault. He will appear in court on Monday.

Anyone with information about the attacks is asked to call VPD Major Crime detectives at 604-717-2541 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

With a report from CTV Vancouver's Breanna Karstens-Smith