A machete attack on two foreign exchange students in North Vancouver has resulted in the arrest of three male youths whose alleged motive was robbery.
Investigators, who worked on the case throughout the weekend following the attack early on Jan. 28 at the Lonsdale Quay bus loop, had arrested the youths by Jan. 31.
Approved charges of aggravated assault have been laid against Blair Benedict, 18, and Christopher Lambert, 18, both of North Vancouver and a 17-year-old youth of Surrey.
The victims, two Korean National foreign students, were waiting in group for a bus just after midnight when approached by the armed suspects.
One allegedly produced a knife, demanding the students hand over their cell phones and wallets. A second suspect, armed with a machete, is said to have attacked a student, striking him in the head and causing a gash requiring seven stitches and 18 staples to close.
The injured students were transported to hospital by ambulance. Miraculously, after only a short stay in hospital, the student with the head injury was released and is expected to make a full recovery. The second student suffered minor injuries in the attack, and all of the students have since returned to Korea.
"We, as you, are shocked by the violence of this attack," Corporal Peter DeVries of the North Vancouver RCMP said in a news release Tuesday.
"This young man could have been killed, and we are so thankful that it didn't turn out worse. This location is a transit hub through which thousands of people pass every day. It is essential that we defend the sense of security that we who live and work on the North Shore have every right to possess,"
"The message to those who commit these kinds of crimes is 'we will find you, we will arrest you, and you will go to jail," said DeVries.
"We have the people, the tools and the know-how to solve these crimes, and we will continue to vigorously defend the safety and security of the people of our community."
