Man sleeping off booze session on outdoor couch set afire by three demon punks

Attackers set fire to sleeping man
Victim, who had fallen asleep on sidewalk couch, suffered minor burns; police look for three suspects in 'random' attack


A man was set on fire Saturday night by three assailants after he fell asleep on a couch on a sidewalk just around the corner from the Commercial Drive bar where he had been drinking with friends.

The 26-year-old Filipino man from New Westminster suffered minor burns to his chest and right wrist, saved from a worse outcome because witnesses quickly intervened. The first witness, a homeless man, ran to help and got in a fight with the three white attackers. Another witness approached and the men ran away.

Speculation about the motive for the attack and whether a hate crime had been committed was rampant yesterday. The description of the men - white, dressed all in black with tattoos and piercings, one with a bald or shaved head - evoked the image of racist skinheads.

Vancouver Police, however, said they had not found evidence that indicated the attack was motivated by racism.

"It doesn't appear the victim's ethnicity had anything to do with it," said Constable Lindsey Houghton of the Vancouver Police. Constable Houghton said an indication of motive could come from "anything said [by the attackers] before or during or after but right now it appears to be utterly and completely random."

The victim, who spent the night in hospital, was with friends at Cafe Deux Soleils, a vegetarian eatery on the lively and generally safe street full of cafés, restaurants and bars on the east side of Vancouver. At some point, he went outside on Commercial Drive and around the corner to East 5th Avenue, where there was an abandoned beige couch against the brick wall of an auto-parts shop. The victim - whose name has not been released by police - fell asleep on the couch and was then approached by the three men.

Twenty minutes before midnight, the homeless man watched the three attackers standing over the sleeping victim. The witness saw one of the men spray a fluid on the man and set him on fire.

Constable Houghton described the crime as "extremely rare" and "disturbing."

Yesterday at midday, there was no indication there had been a crime. The couch was not singed by the small fire. People in the neighbourhood expressed surprise on hearing details of the crime but there wasn't fear that Commercial Drive had suddenly become dangerous.

Across the street from the couch, graffiti artist Scott Tobin was worked on a commissioned mural.

"It's a big city. With a big city, the ratio of crackheads and dirtbags goes up," he said.