Teen cut with garden tool over marijuana deal

A teen was struck with a garden tool Tuesday evening during what police are calling a marijuana deal gone wrong in east Vancouver.

A group of underage people arranged to buy marijuana and then tried to steal it from the seller, said Vancouver police Sgt. Mike Chylack.

In the altercation, one teen received a cut to the head from a sickle-like tool used to cut grass. He was hospitalized but did not appear to need stitches, Chylack said.

The call was reported to 911 at 5:48 p.m. in the area of Northeast 132nd Avenue and 38th Circle in the Image neighborhood. Police dogs were sent out to track down people who ran from the scene.

As of 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, police had taken a juvenile male into custody on suspicion of first-degree robbery and felony assault and an adult male on suspicion of first-degree robbery.

In total, eight people between the ages of 17 and 20 were involved, Chylack said.

Detectives with the city’s east neighborhood response team interviewed people involved and continued gathering information about the evolving situation Tuesday night. Not everyone was forthcoming with information, Chylack said.

The names of those involved were not released Tuesday night.