A 42-year-old Vancouver man was brutally attacked and the front door of his parents' house was set on fire the same night, said Vancouver police, who are describing the assault as targeted.

Police spokesman Const. Tim Fanning said Thursday officers are investigating the two incidents — which took place Monday in East Vancouver — and added that the attack itself was captured by a video camera on a nearby business, and showed six people swarm a man getting into his car, knocking him to the ground and brutally beating him.

The attack on a 42-year-old Vancouver man by six young people Monday evening in East Vancouver was caught on video.
(Vancouver Police Department)

"He had just walked a co-worker to her vehicle, was going back to his vehicle when you saw first two people come into the frame, pull him away from the driver's side of the car and then another four rush in," Fanning said.

The man was kicked about 90 times and suffered injuries to his face and ribs, Fanning said. Police released the video Thursday, and called on the public for help.

"We believe this was a targeted attack," Fanning said, "The victim is 42 years old and has a business in the area."

Police said the injured man doesn't want to speak publicly about what happened.

The man is a prominent businessman in Vancouver's Chinese community and a partner in Dollar Foods, which is also linked to the Dollar Market in Chinatown.

Police said they believe the six young attackers are between the ages of 17 to 25, and one of them could be female. The attack took place at around 6:30 p.m.

About four hours after the beating, the parents' home in East Vancouver was firebombed, leaving the front door with extensive damage, police said.

The father of the man who was brutally beaten says his family is in shock after their front door was set on fire.
(CBC)

The man's father, who only identified himself as Mr. Chow, said he was at home asleep when his front door was set on fire.

"I heard a boom sound," Chow said in Cantonese Chinese. "Then a stack of newspapers was thrown down and that was followed by fire igniting. I smelled gas."

No one in the house was injured, but Chow said the entire family is shocked by the attack, adding that they haven't offended anyone, nor has their son.

"We didn't do anything wrong. We don't know why this happened. My son never harmed anyone," he said.