A former police volunteer accused in a series of Vancouver stranger assaults targeting women was arrested this week following another alleged attack.
Authorities said the latest victim was walking near East 1st Avenue and Commercial Drive on Monday when someone elbowed her in the face.
The Vancouver Police Department said one additional count of assault has since been approved against Dylan Brandon Gaita, a 29-year-old facing charges for several other unprovoked attacks on women committed between January 2025 and January 2026.
The department also shared surveillance video of Monday’s incident and asked any other potential victims or witnesses to come forward.
“Incidents like this are serious and frightening for victims and witnesses,” said Cont. Megan Lui, in a statement.
“Some people may feel too upset to talk to us. We encourage anyone with information to come forward and speak with investigators as they work on this case.”
Police first announced charges against Gaita back in March—but the suspect was quietly charged in connection with one of the first assaults last August, months before he allegedly went on to attack another woman in January.
Gaita’s time volunteering with police—at a community policing centre downtown—ended in March 2023, long before his first alleged assault on an unknown woman.
Police confirmed he underwent a criminal background check prior to his volunteering work.
Authorities previously said some of the victims in previous incidents—which were reported near Alberni and Thurlow streets, Granville and Dunsmuir streets, Granville and Robson streets, and Homer and Georgia streets—were elbowed, struck in the chest or “body-checked,” and that some were knocked onto the ground.
