A man who previously served jail time for threatening Chrystia Freeland has been found not criminally responsible for a violent Vancouver stabbing spree.
Kent Douglas Meades, 46, was previously convicted and jailed for 148 days with three years of probation after being found guilty of “threatening to cause death or bodily harm” to then-deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland. Only six days after his release, he embarked on a violent rampage in downtown Vancouver in which he punched and stabbed strangers and attempted to light one innocent bystander on fire.
Meades was found not criminally responsible for the attacks last week due to a mental disorder.
During his sentencing related to threatening Freeland, the court made no such finding. The series of random attacks took place near Seymour and West Cordova streets in downtown Vancouver, where Meades approached a stranger and began punching him in the head and face.
Court records indicate that Meades yelled “just pick up just one cigarette butt” as he assaulted the victim. The victim managed to escape as Meades continued yelling.
Just a few minutes later, Meades entered a coffee shop near Harbour Centre where he began throwing chairs resulting in a shattered window and a broken barstool.
In a later statement made to the police that was described as “calm and polite,” Meades explained some of his actions by opining that no one was helping him in “his mission from God to clean up.”
Meades then disappeared for a few hours before re-emerging near the 800-block of Main Street brandishing a knife at a passerby, yelling, “you picked up any garbage recently?” He chased the individual, who fell and sustained minor injuries while escaping.
Meades then attempted to light one bystander’s back on fire, stabbed another person, and punched multiple others before eventually being subdued by police.
A court-ordered psychiatric assessment diagnosed Meades with schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type, noting that he exhibited paranoid and grandiose delusions, particularly related to politics. The psychiatrist, Dr. Mandeep Saini, said Meades could not comprehend the wrongfulness of his actions.