Victoria police investigator attacked by man with skateboard while processing crime scene

(Victoria Police / Facebook)

A forensic investigator with the Victoria Police Department was attacked by a man with a skateboard while processing a crime scene downtown on Thursday night.

The officer was investigating a stabbing on Pandora Avenue that left one person with non-life-threatening injuries.

The investigation began earlier that night, around 9:30 p.m., when officers were called to a home in the 1400-block of Harrison Street. Firefighters were at the home performing first aid on someone with multiple stab wounds.

The victim was taken to hospital for treatment of serious but non-life-threatening injuries, police say.

Investigators later determined that the victim had been sitting on a bench in the 1000-block of Pandora Avenue when they were stabbed by a man in what investigators describe as a random attack.

The man then fled to his home on Harrison Street before he realized he was stabbed.

Police are now looking for the stabbing suspect, who is described as a man who stands 5'5" with a medium built. He has hair that goes past his ears, facial hair, and what witnesses describe as an "unkempt appearance."

Anyone with information on the man is asked to call Victoria police at 250-995-7654 extension 1.

FORENSIC OFFICER ATTACKED

At approximately 11:40 p.m., police say a forensic officer in full uniform was walking back to the stabbing scene, which was behind police tape, near the intersection of Pandora Avenue and Vancouver Street when he was approached by a man carrying a skateboard.

The man "verbally confronted the officer" and swung the skateboard at the investigator, who used his camera and tripod to protect his head, police said.

The investigator, with the help of other officers on scene, fended off the attacker and apprehended him.

The officer was not injured in the attack but the camera equipment was damaged, according to police.

The suspect, who was wanted on an outstanding warrant, was taken to police cells and later released pending a court appearance.