The shooting occurred shortly after 7 a.m. near the intersection of 142A Street and 87A Avenue, police said in a press release.
There, a Surrey RCMP officer located a man who matched the suspect’s description in at least one incident earlier in the morning. A chase ensued and a “confrontation” ensued, in which the policeman shot the man, police said.
Mounties did not provide further details on the circumstances of the conflict and referred all inquiries about the incident to the Independent Investigations Office, which is in charge of investigating incidents involving BC police officers that resulted in the death or serious injury of a member. public.
“The details of this interaction, of course, are at the heart of our investigation,” Ron MacDonald, the IIO’s chief political officer, told CTV News on Friday afternoon.
“We will look at all aspects of the interaction and, in particular, whether the officer’s actions – to shoot – were justified under the circumstances.”
In a statement, the IIO said police had received “several reports of various incidents” involving a man who had a gun on Friday morning.
The RCMP noted two specific incidents in its statement. The first, at 5:41 a.m., concerned a woman who reported that a man with a gun attempted to rob her near 144th Street and 108th Avenue. The second – reported at 5:42 a.m., according to RCMP – involved a car robbery with a weapon near the location of the first call.
Neither the IIO nor the RCMP said what kind of weapon the suspect allegedly had. MacDonald did not share this information either, saying it was “too early” in the IIO investigation to share specific details about what happened between the officer and the suspect.
“The reason we do not specify exactly what type of weapon it was is that we do not want to break any potential witnesses out there,” he said.
The IIO said in a statement that it was unclear whether the man shot was the suspect involved in all the other incidents.
“Police located a man near the intersection of 142A Street and 87A Avenue, who was believed to be the person involved in at least one of the previous police reports,” the IIO said in a statement.
The man was taken to hospital after the shooting, where he later died, police said.
The IIO asks anyone with information about the case to call the witness line at 855-446-8477 or submit an advice using the contact form on their website.
Surrey’s RCMP is also investigating the incident in which the man was a suspect and is asking anyone with information to contact the detachment’s serious crime unit.
“There were a number of incidents this morning that greatly affected the residents of our community, as well as all the police officers who responded to the scene,” said Assoc. Comm. Brian Edwards, Surrey RCMP’s officer in charge, at release.
“We ensure that all those affected by these incidents, including our officers, are supported at this difficult time. “Our thoughts are with the family of the deceased.”
