Three teenagers stabbed a man walking a service dog on a Vancouver school campus, authorities say

VANCOUVER, Wash. (KATU) — People in a Vancouver community are on edge after news broke that a man was stabbed while walking his service dog.

It happened on the campus of Wy'east Middle School and the suspects are teenagers.

“Wy'east is used a lot by neighbors around here, so it's surprising that someone was approached there,” said Crestline resident Arlen Griffith.

Steve Williams told KATU: “We walk our dog all the time.”

A KATU crew visited the area Friday evening and noted that it was quiet but there were a lot of pedestrians.

“We have a small dog that we take there about every other day,” Williams said.

There were no teenagers there, just people exercising on campus and walking their dogs.

“It’s quiet and relaxed, and you hardly hear of any crime here,” Griffith said.

“I never saw anything threatening, that’s for sure,” Williams said.

For this reason, many people in the area were shocked to hear about the stabbing in which a man was injured.

“There are actually kids running up and down the street, but they're usually very friendly and saying hello and stuff like that. To hear something like that when something like that is happening half a mile away is pretty disturbing,” Griffith told the KATU crew.

Crime Stoppers reported that on August 2, a 50-year-old man was walking his service dog around 11 p.m.

Three teenagers are said to have attacked the man and stabbed him several times in the front and back.

The victim was taken to the hospital and is still recovering. The police dog was not injured.

Meanwhile, Crime Stoppers is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to an arrest. Tipsters can remain anonymous.

Although it is nothing new in the community that it is quite noisy, people are particularly vigilant.

“Well, it just raises your awareness,” Williams said.