A man who was convicted of randomly stabbing a stranger at a downtown Vancouver Tim Hortons in 2022 is back in custody, authorities say.

David Richard Morin was arrested Monday afternoon on a Canada-wide arrest warrant at a Vancouver halfway house for violating the conditions of his release, the Vancouver Police Department announced Tuesday in a news release.

Morin pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years in prison for aggravated assault in the unprovoked attack on a Mexican tourist. He was released after serving two-thirds of that time behind bars.

“Among the conditions of his release was the obligation to refrain from consuming illegal drugs or alcohol,” the VPD statement said.

“The Canada-wide arrest warrant was issued after he allegedly violated these conditions.”

When Morin was released in June 2024, the VPD issued a public warning.

“Police believe that Morin poses a high risk of significant harm to the community and that compelling circumstances exist to warn the public that he will be living in Vancouver,” police said at the time.

Morin was 27 years old in January 2022 when the violent assault at Tim Hortons was filmed by the cafe’s surveillance cameras.

At the time, authorities said the attack happened “completely without warning” and that the attacker and his victim did not know each other and had little interaction before the stabbing.

The victim was taken to hospital with his life in danger, but he survived. He later spoke about the ordeal to CTV News, saying through a translator that the assault made him anxious every time he went out.

“He feels like someone is going to attack him from behind. He doesn’t feel safe wherever he goes,” the translator said at the time.

Morin remains in custody, the VPD said.

With files from Ian Holliday of CTV News Vancouver.