Co-workers of Vancouver's latest homicide victim are in mourning.
Friends and colleagues identified Japanese national Wataru Kakiuchi, 32, as the man who died from fatal stabbings on Wednesday.
Kakiuchi is the chef and longtime employee of Hapa Izakaya, a Japanese restaurant in Yaletown.
“(He's) just a really smart, positive guy,” said restaurant owner Justin Ault.
“(He’s) the kind of guy that nobody could hate.”
The restaurant was closed Wednesday evening but was open to employees to give them a place to mourn.
Ort said he spoke with Vancouver police, who confirmed that the person killed was Kakiuchi.
Emails needed on the day
Top news from Canada and around the world.
At around 3:30 a.m., Vancouver police responded to a stabbing on Union Street, east of Main Street on the edge of Chinatown.
Police found Kakiuchi with stab wounds. He died before being taken to hospital.
No one was arrested.
“When I spoke to the Vancouver Police Department, they told me that they had spoken with the Japanese consulate and that his family had been informed of this tragic news,” Ort said.
“He was a great musician, a great cook, a great person and a great friend. He will be greatly missed.”
The boss said Kakiuchi was out in Gastown on Tuesday night with other co-workers and was supposed to take a taxi back to Burnaby at the end of the night.
This is the fourth homicide in Vancouver this year.
If anyone has information, including video footage of the area at the time of the stabbing, they are asked to contact investigators at 604-717-2500.
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
