Police tape, April 30, 2014.JOHN LEHMANN/The Globe and Mail
Two men are dead after a double stabbing in a hotel in Vancouver's troubled Downtown Eastside, prompting residents to speak out about ongoing safety concerns.
Police say they responded shortly before 9 p.m. Saturday to a stabbing at the West Hotel (located at Carrall Street and East Pender Street).
When officers arrived, they found a 24-year-old man in the hotel who had been stabbed, and he died at the scene.
As police tended to the first victim, they were directed to a second man who was suffering from a life-threatening stab wound.
The 37-year-old man was rushed to hospital where he later died.
Police say the motive for the stabbings is unknown at this time and there have been no arrests made in the case.
Both men are known to police.
Tenant Dan Zimmermann says he did not know the two men who were stabbed and they may not have been residents. He says he heard screaming and running last night and this morning saw blood in the hallways.
He and other residents say safety measures have gone downhill since new management took over in November. He says Community Builders Society has failed to provide enough front desk staff and secure the building from outsiders, resulting in more violent incidents.
Zimmermann says there was another stabbing in the building on Mar. 10.
"A gentleman's throat got slashed in an elevator," he says. "It's too much drug activity, just illegal activity, period. It's becoming confrontational. Tenants are getting threatened, tenants are getting hurt."
Community Builders Society did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
There are about 110 people living at the West Hotel. Advocates say many are at risk of homelessness and are elderly, disabled and have mental illnesses.