A man accused in a robbery Wednesday is also suspected of chasing after a girl near a school bus stop in the same area of east Vancouver, according to the Vancouver Police Department.
Officers originally responded at 7:25 a.m. to the Beverage Tobacco Zone at 11320 N.E. 49th St. for reports of a robbery and assault. Police then received a call about a man, similarly described as the robbery suspect, chasing and grabbing a girl in the same area.
The man, later identified by police as Kim K. Karuo, stole another man’s hat after punching him in the face, according to Vancouver police. Police arrested Karuo and said that he was likely intoxicated and experiencing a mental health crisis.
Officers tracked down the girl, who told them that the suspect had grabbed her arm, according to police spokeswoman Kim Kapp.
According to Evergreen Public Schools, the school bus arrived before anyone was harmed, and the bus driver “took rapid action” to get the student onboard. The district sent an email to families about the incident and identified the girl as a student at Henrietta Lacks High School. The district said the man who grabbed her was a stranger.
“We always want our students to be vigilant,” district spokesman Craig Birnbach said.
Karuo was booked into the Clark County Jail on suspicion of third-degree assault, second-degree robbery and resisting arrest in connection with the incident at the Beverage Tobacco Zone, court records show. A probable cause affidavit states Karuo kicked at the officer who arrested him and tried to pull his arms away from the handcuffs.
Kapp said the report on the bus stop incident was not complete Friday afternoon.
