Send this page to someone via email York Regional Police are concerned for the safety of a man who was abducted by a group of masked men in a parking garage in Markham on Saturday evening. RT YRP: ARMED KIDNAPPING – We need your help to locate 22yr-old Wanzhen LU, kidnapped by 3 masked men, one armed with a taser from an underground parking garage at 15 Water Walk Dr, Markham. Suspect van is black Dodge Caravan with stolen plate: CEAR350. … pic.twitter.com/37bFP0jhb8 — York Regional Police (@YRP) March 24, 2019 Police said 22-year-old Wanzhen Lu was kidnapped by three men and shocked by a stun gun multiple times before being forced into a black Dodge Caravan in the underground parking garage of his condo building located at 15 Water Walk Drive. Story continues below advertisement Const. Andy Pattenden told media that Lu was walking with a female friend around 6 p.m. when a van with a licence plate stolen from Peel Region in early March pulled up behind them. Three men got out and ambushed Lu, dragging him into the van. The fourth suspect was said to be the driver. View image in full screen 15 Water Walk Drive where Wanzhen Lu was kidnapped on Saturday evening. Matthew Bingley / Global News “It’s a little concerning,” said Nelson Long, who lived in the building where Lu was abducted. “I don’t know how a car full of people who may or may not live here got into the garage underground.” Police described the incident as a “violent attack” and believe it was targeted as Lu’s friend and others in the parking garage were left unharmed. Story continues below advertisement “I’m kind of scared to live in this building,” said Kruti Bave, a resident who had lived in the in the condo building for around a year. “I thought it was one of the [safer] spaces around, but right now, I’m feeling a little scared.” View image in full screen York Regional Police have released images of three-men suspected to be involved in the armed kidnapping of 22-year-old man in Markham. York Regional Police / Handout The first suspect is described by officials as a masked male wearing blue pants and a black jacket. The second suspect is described as a dark-skinned male, around 6’1″ and he was wearing a black Canada Goose jacket. The third suspect is described as a heavier built male around 6’2″ with dark skin and was wearing dark blue jeans with a black jacket. The fourth suspected is described as wearing a green/yellow jacket with the hood. Story continues below advertisement WATCH BELOW: Police said at around 6 p.m., 22-year-old Wanzhen Lu was kidnapped from the underground parking garage of his condo building at 15 Water Walk Drive, near Highway 7 and Warden Avenue. 4:46 Man forced into van, kidnapped by three masked men in Markham: police Man forced into van, kidnapped by three masked men in Markham: police – Mar 23, 2019 Pattenden said Lu, who was a Chinese national studying in Toronto, was last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black jeans and white running shoes. Police said the suspect’s van is a black 2008 to 2010 Dodge Caravan with the stolen plate CEAR350. The building’s security operations manager told Global News that the building’s owners, Times Property Management, have co-operated with the police. York police are asking anyone with information to call 866-876-5423 x7541. ARMED KIDNAPPING UPDATE – 22yr-old Wanzhen LU was kidnapped just before 6pm yesterday from 15 Water Walk Dr, Markham. If you spot this wheelchair accessible Dodge Caravan with stolen plate:CEAR350 call 9-1-1 immediately. Click the link for more info –> https://t.co/vZdrW5pWgW pic.twitter.com/ffnqGH3lEw — York Regional Police (@YRP) March 24, 2019 Story continues below advertisement — with files from Samantha Berdini and The Canadian Press<doc-sep>A Chinese international student missing since Saturday from north of Toronto has been found alive after knocking on the door of a home in a quiet cottage town almost 200 kilometres away, police say. Wanzhen Lu, 22, was located by a Gravenhurst, Ont., resident after he turned up at a home asking for help just before 9 p.m. ET, York Regional Police spokesperson Andy Pattenden told reporters at a news conference late Tuesday night. The homeowner called police and officers with the Ontario Provincial Police arrived at the home and identified Lu, who was taken to a nearby hospital for assessment of what police described as minor injuries. Pattenden also said a 35-year-old man who was arrested in connection with the case early Tuesday has since been released "unconditionally" and is not facing any charges. He declined to provide further detail on the reason for the arrest. Police believe a vehicle dropped off Lu on rural Doe Lake Road on Tuesday. (Jeremy Cohn/CBC) Search continues for suspects As of Tuesday night, Pattenden said, police are still looking for the four people captured on surveillance cameras taking Lu from the parking garage of a condominium building in Markham, around 6 p.m. ET Saturday. Police have said three masked men forced Lu into a black Dodge Caravan after shocking him with a conductive energy weapon, while a fourth was driving the vehicle. "We're very concerned that they're still out there," Pattenden said, saying the investigation remains ongoing. Wanzhen Lu, 22, was picked up by Ontario Provincial Police late Tuesday night after a Gravenhurst resident found him. (York Regional Police) As the search continues for the perpetrators, new information has also come to light about Lu, who CBC Toronto reported Tuesday is enrolled in a bachelor of business administration at Yorkville University. The school, which bills itself as a Canadian university with a national presence, offers degree and diploma programs in Ontario, New Brunswick and British Columbia. Lu, who also goes by the name "Peter," drove a number of luxury vehicles, including a Lamborghini, Rolls Royce and Range Rover, police confirmed to CBC Toronto on Tuesday. Lu abducted after arriving in Range Rover It was in a Range Rover that police say Lu and a female friend arrived inside the parking garage Saturday moments before a black Dodge Caravan appeared behind them. Police have released three photos of suspects, all wearing hoods. (York Regional Police) Police said Monday that the pair may have been walking toward the elevators of the garage when three men with hoods pulled tightly around their faces got out of the van, pulling Lu inside. One man, armed with a conductive energy weapon ran up to Lu. There was a struggle that police described as "violent," Lu resisted, and the man shocked him a number of times. Police would not say how many times. Lu was "dragged" into the van, police said. CBC Toronto also obtained documents on the Range Rover showing it's registered to a car-leasing company. The vehicle documents also listed a lien against Lu. On Tuesday, the Range Rover remained in the garage. Meanwhile, police are not confirming that an Instagram page — picturing three vehicles matching the description of those Lu drove — belonged to him. They also warned of the possibility of false accounts purporting to be his. York police released images of a getaway van, a black Dodge Caravan. It has since been located in Toronto. (York Regional Police) Family 'traumatized' Police say members of Lu's family arrived in Canada from China on Monday and were "traumatized" by their son's abduction. "We have been in touch with the family," Pattenden said Tuesday. "They're asking for their privacy to be respected at this point in time. They're obviously very concerned for Mr. Lu's well-being as are we." Also on Tuesday, the Chinese consulate released a statement saying officials have been in touch with York Regional Police as well as the victim's family. "We contacted the YRP for all relevant details, asked them to spare no efforts to rescue the victim safely and take concrete measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens within our consular district," the statement said. Forensic investigators to comb through van On Monday, police located the van into which Lu was forced, with Pattenden saying forensic investigators will now be combing through it in search of clues as to who may have been inside and where Lu may have been taken. Police haven't elaborated on where the van was found, except to say it was located somewhere in the city of Toronto thanks to a tip from a member of the public. Police are not confirming that an Instagram page — picturing three vehicles matching the description of those Lu drove — belonged to him. They have also warned of the possibility of false accounts purporting to be his. (Instagram) Police have also said the female friend he was walking with at the time of the abduction was unhurt, and that she is co-operating with police. Meanwhile, officers are asking the remaining individuals involved to give themselves up to police. "It's only a matter of time, essentially, for us that we start to get closer to who these people are," said York Regional Police spokesperson Laura Nicolle.<doc-sep>
Joshua Freeman, CP24.com York Regional Police have released suspect photos after a young man was kidnapped Saturday from the underground parking garage of the Markham condominium building where he lives. Wanzhen Lu, 22, was with a female friend in the underground parking garage of a condo tower at 15 Water Walk Drive, in the area of Highway 7 and Birchmount Road, shortly before 6 p.m. The two had just arrived in a vehicle and were heading to the elevators. According to police, that was when three men got out of a van parked in the garage and approached Lu, a Chinese national who goes to school in Toronto. “The van was also in the underground parking garage,” Const. Andy Pattenden told CP24 Saturday. “Three men got out. One man remained in the van. The three men wearing black clothing with masks on as well – one of them armed with a Taser — grabbed our victim, loaded him in that van and drove out of here. That’s the last we saw that van.” Police said that Lu was shocked with the energy weapon multiple times when he resisted the men and called the attack “very brazen.” “There was a significant level of violence involved in this kidnapping,” Pattenden said Sunday, adding that Lu “was taken 100 per cent against his will.” Lu’s friend was uninjured in the incident and immediately alerted security, who contacted 911, Pattenden said. The motive for the kidnapping remains unclear. Pattenden said there has been no communication from the kidnappers so far. Local authorities have been in touch with the Chinese consulate in connection with the case and Pattenden said a team of investigators worked “through the night” to try and gather as much information as possible to help locate Lu. Lu is described as an Asian male with short hair cropped at the sides. He wears dark-rimmed eyeglasses and was last seen wearing a black hoodie, black jeans and white running shoes. Police released images of the van and suspects Sunday morning. The 2008-2010 black Dodge Caravan was missing a front plate, but had a stolen plate on the back, with the license number CEAR 350. The vehicle also bore stickers indicating that it was wheelchair accessible. The first suspect is described as a male who was wearing a mask, blue pants and a black jacket. The second suspect is described as a dark-skinned male who stands around six feet tall. He was wearing a black Canada Goose jacket. The third suspect is described as a dark-skinned male who stands six-foot-two with a heavier build. He was wearing dark blue jeans with a black jacket. The fourth suspect is described as a male with a green/yellow jacket with a hood. Police are asking anyone who spots the vehicle or has any other information to call 911 immediately.