stranger attack allegations pile up against vancouver man
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screenshots from a video released by vancouver police showing a man using his elbow to strike a woman on the sidewalk. dylan brandon gaita, 29, is charged with assault in relation to the june 29 incident on commercial drive and east 1st avenue in vancouver.
vpd
vancouver man dylan brandon gaita now stands accused of hitting pedestrians on six separate occasions as he walked past them.
on monday, the vancouver police reported that the 29-year-old had been charged with assault for an incident on june 28 near the intersection of commercial drive and charles street.
in that case, gaita is accused of shoulder-checking a man, causing him to lose his balance.
the complaint was made to police on july 4, after the victim saw video footage released by the vpd on june 30 showing a man walking near the intersection of commercial drive and east 1st avenue lift his elbow and hit a woman in the face as she was passing by.
at that time, police identified gaita as the suspect and said that he had been charged with assault.
gaita was out on the streets after being arrested in march in connection with a series of stranger assaults targeting women in downtown vancouver.
that investigation began in january 2025 after a 44-year-old woman was assaulted by a stranger while walking near granville and dunsmuir streets. at least three other women reported similar attacks, where a suspect elbowed or shoulder-checked women while passing them on sidewalks. in some cases, the victims were knocked to the ground.
gaita was arrested on march 5 and charged with four counts of assault in connection with incidents in 2025 on jan. 21, april 26 and april 29, and on jan. 31. he was later released.
according to police, gaita is now being kept in custody pending his next court date.
dylan brandon gaita, 29, is charged with six counts of assault from incidents between january 2025 to june 2026.
vancouver police department
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