A 31-year-old Coquitlam man is in custody after allegedly assaulting a man in a Heritage Mountain home Tuesday morning.
The suspect also fits the description of a man who reportedly carjacked a woman's vehicle on Eagle Mountain a short time later, not far from where the assault took place, according to Coquitlam RCMP.
Port Moody Police Const. Luke van Winkel said officers responded as a priority after receiving the call of an assault with a weapon at 8:10 a.m. at the Birchwood Crescent home, where they found the weapon and a man with minor injuries. He was treated in hospital as a precaution.
Several roads leading down Heritage Mountain were blocked as police searched for the suspect and police also put nearby Aspenwood, Heritage Mountain, Pleasantside and Anmore elementary schools on a Code Yellow lockdown as well as Heritage Woods secondary and Eagle Mountain middle.
"We've recovered a weapon but we can't talk to the nature of what that was at this point," van Winkel said.
About two hours later Coquitlam RCMP responded to a report that a woman was carjacked at Bramble Lane and Crowberry Court, slightly east of where the assault took place, at 10:30 a.m.
"The male suspect robbed the female victim of her vehicle and the female received some minor injuries and is being treated in hospital," said RCMP Cpl. Jamie Chung. "I just talked to the Port Moody Police and they believe there's a very high similarity between their suspect and ours, and they have someone fitting that description in their custody."
It's not known whether the assault victim and the suspect knew each other or if the suspect broke into the Birchwood Crescent house.
The victim only provided a very vague description of the suspect, saying that it was a Caucasian or Middle Eastern man in his 30s, van Winkel said.
The school lockdowns were lifted shortly after the suspect was arrested.
"That's just a normal protocol and the children are safe," said Judy Shirra, board chair for School District 43.
Van Winkel said the suspect is not known to police and the investigation is ongoing.
