Teen blows hand off ringing in the new year
Plus: Downtown Vancouver incidents kept to a minimum
A Surrey teenager is in hospital after losing his hand in a bizarre New Year’s Eve celebration near 165th Street and 88th Avenue.
News 1130 reported that the boy decided to shoot an old-style musket into the air to ring in the new year. But the gun exploded in his hand, ripping his it off and sending shrapnel into four friends.
• In Vancouver, incidents related to alcohol-fuelled revellers were down from recent years as fewer people rang in the new year in the downtown entertainment district.
“Six drunks were taken to jail to sober up overnight,” said Vancouver police spokeswoman Const. Jana McGuinness.
There were three stabbings in various parts of the city, but none of the victims suffered serious injuries, said McGuinness.
A large police presence on Granville Street, where two blocks of the street were closed to traffic, ensured partyers had a good, safe celebration, she said.
• Vancouver police are looking for a bank robber who struck the main branch of the HSBC bank on New Year’s Eve. A Caucasian man in his 40s walked into the bank in the 800-block West Georgia Street just before 3 p.m. Wednesday and demanded cash, a Vancouver police spokesman said. The robber made off with an undisclosed amount of cash.
Staff Reporter
The Province
