New Zealand tourist speaks after terrifying, random street stabbing attack in Vancouver, Canada

New Zealand tourist Jamie Hallowes was the victim of a random stabbing attack in Vancouver, Canada yesterday.

A New Zealand tourist recovering from an unprovoked knife attack on a downtown Vancouver street has spoken about the terrifying and mystifyingly random stabbing and vowed not to let it ruin his travel experience.

Jamie Hallowes, 28, feels “super lucky” to escape serious injury after being stabbed twice from behind in the Canadian city’s Granville Entertainment District, a central neighbourhood of bars, restaurants and nightclubs.

The Paihia man had just left his hostel and checked out an eatery when the assault happened around 8pm yesterday (Vancouver time).

He was waiting to cross the road and enter a 7-Eleven convenience store when he suddenly felt two blows to his side and right arm.

“At first, it just felt like two punches, so I turned around to confront the person,” Hallowes told the Herald today.

By the time he turned around, his assailant was already walking off in the opposite direction.

Jamie Hallowes was stabbed in his side and his arm.

Hallowes crossed the road “thinking nothing of it”, but when he reached the 7-Eleven, he started to feel a stinging sensation.

Lifting his shirt, he saw a puncture wound around 2-3cm wide in his side, from where a lot of blood was starting to flow.

The Kiwi asked 7-Eleven staff for something to stem the bleeding. A security guard helped bandage the wound before he made his way to St Paul’s Hospital emergency department, about half a kilometre’s walk away.

“Luckily, it was just a superficial stab wound and didn’t hit any vital arteries or organs,” Hallowes said, adding that “it could have been so much worse”.

Vancouver, British Columbia.

He was given a tetanus shot and stitches as well as antibiotics, painkillers and a free taxi back to his hostel.

Hallowes gave a statement to police, with a description of his attacker, whom he only saw fleetingly.

“From what we know so far, this attack appears to be completely random and unprovoked,” said Constable Tania Visintin of the Vancouver Police Department.

Investigators are looking for a man about 165cm tall, with a medium complexion, who was wearing a white T-shirt, dark jeans and a blue baseball cap.

No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing, local police say.

Jamie Hallowes feels lucky to have escaped with minor injuries.

Hallowes, who has been travelling solo for the past six weeks, said the moment he was stabbed felt “very surreal”.

“Once I saw the wound, it was almost like, ‘Did this actually just happen to me?’ I didn’t expect it to happen at all,” he said.

“I’m still questioning why it happened. It’s left me feeling puzzled and confused. If I knew there was a motive like a mugging or an argument between us then maybe I could understand.

“But there wasn’t any intent other than just pure aggression it seems.

“He didn’t mug me. He didn’t say anything. We didn’t interact in the slightest. He just decided to attack me in broad daylight with plenty of people around and walk away as soon as it happened.”

Hallowes, who runs a window-tinting business, is determined to continue with his travels and not let the attack spoil his trip.

He has found Canadians “nothing but kind”, while the country is beautiful.

“I came here to find adventure, that’s what I’m going to do,” he said.

“I’m not going to let a disturbed individual ruin that.”

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said they are aware of the stabbing but have not been approached for consular assistance.

News outlet Daily Hive Vancouver reports that the Granville Entertainment District has been “a problem for police, with various violent incidents” over recent years.

Kurt Bayer is a South Island correspondent based in Christchurch. He is a senior journalist who joined the Herald in 2011.