An assault on a popular city soccer field that allegedly left a man with stab wounds is being investigated by Vancouver police.
The incident took place shortly after 4 p.m. Saturday at Trillium Field while a football game was underway. Part of the meeting was filmed.
“Someone went out onto the pitch uninvited, so I had to stop the game and asked, ‘What are you doing’, and it was really a little inconsistent,” said the referee Dieter Trenkel to Global News, adding that the man had asked for help. .
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Trenkel said three more men entered the field towards the man, at which point things quickly escalated.
“(One of them) took a knife out of his jacket, a six, seven inch switch knife,” he said.
“They assaulted this gentleman who came on the field for the first time, they knocked him down and they stomped on him and punched him, then the guy who took out the knife, he went and started stabbing the guy. “
Trenkel yelled at spectators to stay back, call 9-1-1 and videotape the incident.
He then ran to the victim’s aid. In video footage of the incident, Trenkel can be seen running towards the assault and pushing aside one of the attackers.
“I just saw the guy was beaten by three people and no one else was going to help me, so I just reacted, I just went out.”
Vancouver Police have confirmed they are investigating the incident and have yet to identify any suspects.
Police could not confirm the victim was stabbed, but said he was not seriously injured.
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“We don’t know exactly what precipitated this,” Sgt. said Steve Addison. “Obviously (it was) a very concerning incident that took place in the middle of a football field.”
Trenkel told Global News he had no hesitation in running to the man’s rescue, although his wife told him he was “crazy” and that in retrospect the attackers could have returned by the end of the match.
He added that the effrontery of the attack raises concerns about crime in the city.
“I was surprised that this happened in front of so many people,” he said. “Like, has this town gone that far?” “
© 2021 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
