Flowers are placed outside of the West Hotel at 488 Carrall Street.JONATHAN HAYWARD/The Canadian Press
Dan Zimmermann could hear someone yelling. Loud noise was not unusual for the West Hotel, a single-room occupancy building with a rough reputation, even by the standards of Vancouver's poverty-stricken Downtown Eastside. Mr. Zimmermann was aware of at least 17 incidents that had been reported to police since Jan. 1.
But the confrontation above him – Mr. Zimmermann lives on the third floor – did not stop at yelling. He next heard what sounded like a person running down the stairs. And then, a few minutes later, a shriek: "Call 911."
By the time Vancouver police arrived, one man was dead; a second man died in hospital. The motive for the stabbing deaths – as well as the sequence of events on Saturday night – remains unclear, and no arrests have been made. The deaths are Vancouver's fourth and fifth homicides so far this year, putting the city ahead of its pace in each of the past five years.
Sergeant Randy Fincham, a police spokesman, said officers were called just before 9 p.m. He said the man who died at the scene was 24 years old, and the man who died in hospital was 37.
Their names have not been released pending notification of family. Sgt. Fincham said both were known to police, although he did not disclose how.
The police spokesman said investigators with the department's major crime section and its forensic identification unit responded to the call but have not yet found a motive. Police have asked anyone with information to contact them or Crime Stoppers.
Vancouver recorded nine homicides in 2014, and the fifth was in late April. It had six homicides in 2013, with the fifth not occurring until October. And there were eight homicides in 2012, with the fifth in May.
The fifth homicide of 2011 occurred in June, while 2010's fifth one was in May.
Mr. Zimmermann, who has lived at the West Hotel for three years, and on Sunday spoke to the media on behalf of the more than 100 tenants, told reporters the building has got increasingly dangerous. He said new owners took over in 2013, and a new property management company came on board in October.
He said any optimism about the new management company was short-lived. He added that several non-residents have keys to the building, and the two men who died on Saturday were not believed to live there. He said he did not know them.
Mr. Zimmermann said that, without full-time front-desk staff, the building has become a hub for drug activity and residents have been threatened. Some, he said, are afraid to leave their units.
Mr. Zimmermann said he has reported 17 incidents to police this year, from assault to threats to property damage. He said a man's throat was slashed on March 10, and that incident may have played a role in what happened on Saturday.
Julie Roberts, president of Community Builders Group, which manages the property, said in an interview that she does not believe the building has become less safe, although she acknowledged some security issues. Ms. Roberts said the locks have been replaced a couple of times and will be again.
She said the front desk is staffed 24 hours, although it may be unmanned from time to time while employees carry out patrols.
Ms. Roberts said about $100,000 has been put into building repairs in the past few months, and 25 rooms have been renovated.
"Unfortunately, when you put that much money into the repairs of the building, it is possible that the security suffered by all of our funds going to that," she said. "… I think at this point we'll be looking carefully at where the resources should be allocated."
Mr. Zimmermann said many of the issues he has noticed have not yet been addressed.
Ms. Roberts said a small number of tenants have been using their rooms for criminal activity, and Community Builders has been trying to evict them.
The owners of the building, who operate through a numbered company, could not be reached for comment.
Cee Jai Julian, a Downtown Eastside support worker, left flowers and a candle outside the hotel on Sunday. Ms. Julian said she did not know the victims, but wanted to pay her respects.
"The Downtown Eastside is … the poorest postal code in Canada," she said. "But yet when I walk through the Downtown Eastside … it may be poor in income, but high in spirits."