Men in Hoods Violently Kidnap Chinese Student in Canada

Police in Canada are "very concerned for the safety" of a Chinese international student kidnapped by men wearing hoods on Saturday. Wanzhen "Peter" Lu, 22, had just parked his Range Rover in the underground parking garage of his condo building in the Toronto suburb of Markham—he also drives a Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce, per the AP—when he was grabbed by three men who'd emerged from a black Dodge Caravan driven by a fourth suspect. Lu, believed to have been targeted, was shocked multiple times with a Taser and "dragged" into the van, while a female friend was left unharmed, police say, per the CBC. "Abductions like this, especially with this level of violence used are very rare in this country," says Const. Andy Pattenden of the York Regional Police, noting Lu's family is flying from China to Toronto. "This entire case is odd."

Pattenden says police haven't made contact with the abductors and aren't aware of any ransom demands, though Lu's family may be. That leaves the focus on surveillance video of the kidnapping and the vehicle used, later found abandoned in Toronto. The stolen license plate "CEAR350," clearly seen in the video, had by then been removed. Police believe the wheelchair accessible van was already inside the parking garage when Lu arrived around 6pm; CTV News reports a key fob is needed to enter. Though the CBC references a ransom scam that has targeted Chinese students in Toronto and several other Canadian cities, Pattenden says police are "treating this as a unique situation." Officers haven't said what school Lu attends, how long he's been in the country, or what part of China he is from. (A double murder in Toronto remains unsolved.)