Residents say area is in decline
“It’s kind of scary…. Kind of sad. Especially that a (24)-year-old had to die over it.”
One person is dead, and another has been released from hospital after a double stabbing in Port Coquitlam.
A 46-year-old man, who lives at the home where the incident took place, was arrested on scene.
The victim of Saturday night’s stabbing is 24-year-old Dylan Thomas Bayntun of Coquitlam. The other stabbing victim, a 30-year-old Burnaby man, was released from hospital that same night.
A fourth person at the scene was questioned and released, police said.
“This was not a random act,” said Dale Carr of the RCMP’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team. “It was an incident between four individuals that knew each other.”
Carr said both stabbing victims were known to police.
The suspect will make an appearance in court today.
On Atkins Avenue, a block from downtown Port Coquitlam’s Shaughnessy Street, residents said their neighbourhood is in decline, with rising drug problems and property crimes.
“We’ve seen the police here before,” said Stacy Christensen, a neighbour.
The suspect lived in the house with his girlfriend and her mother, she said.
She pointed out another home, a few houses down, as a former crackhouse, and said police are regular visitors on the street.
Stacy Christensen’s mother, Doreen, blamed the violence on new neighbours that she said have brought drug problems with them.
“They are not easy to live around,” Doreen Christensen said. “It didn’t surprise us.”
“It’s kind of scary,” said Shauna Essery, who lives on the block with her five children.
Essery said she was home but did not hear the commotion Saturday night.
“Kind of sad. Especially that a (24)-year-old had to die over it,” she said.
Developers have bought homes on the northern side of Atkins Avenue, including the suspect’s home, and are renting the properties until permits for condominium redevelopment are approved.
The Christensens believe this will help clean up the neighbourhood.
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