Attack at Numbers

A Vancouver man randomly attacked at Numbers, Dec 10, wants to see the community’s bars establish a protocol for dealing with attacks in what he says should be safe spaces for queer people.

David Bremner and Daniel McBriar had gone to the Davie St club after leaving the nearby Odyssey at around 1 am.

Without warning, a man smashed McBriar in the head with a beer glass, opening a gash in his eyebrow. Bremner says the same man then punched him in the left side of the head, causing him to fall down the stairs.

“Daniel had to be treated at the scene by ambulance staff,” Bremner says. “He was bleeding quite a bit.”

Bremner says he’d never seen their attacker before.

Vancouver police Const Howard Chow says Bremner and McBriar were attacked by two men. Police arrived quickly but could not find anyone matching the suspects’ descriptions when they searched the neighbourhood.

Bremner says the police officers who attended were sympathetic and helpful.

According to Chow, the altercation began when one of the suspects allegedly asked McBriar: “What are you looking at?”

“I’m looking at you,” he says McBriar responded before the assault began.

Chow says witnesses chased the alleged attackers down the alley behind the bar, to no avail. “If you follow us, we will kill you,” Chow says one of the men yelled back at his pursuers.

Bremner says the situation has left him with “a lot of anger and frustration.” He says the attack had a random “psycho” feel to it. He sees no indication that it was motivated by homophobia.

Now, he says, rather than dwell on the negative, he would like to see the bars work together to establish protocols on how to deal with such situations. “There should be somebody trained not to panic,” he says; someone who can assess the situation as it’s unfolding and grab witnesses to help in an investigation.

However, he adds, he shouldn’t have to be looking over his shoulder for fear of attack in what should be a safe queer space.

Bremner describes his attacker as between 25 and 32 years old, of average height and build with some facial hair. He was wearing jeans and a grey sweatshirt or hoodie.

It’s not the first such attack in the area lately.

On Oct 18, bouncers at Celebrities tried to separate two groups that had been antagonizing each other. Once outside, one man attacked another with a beer bottle or glass, slashing him in the neck. The victim chased his attacker for a block before collapsing in a pool of blood. The attacker got away.