Coquitlam RCMP investigate 4 shootings in 1 week
Man in stable condition in hospital after being shot Sunday morning near Gatensbury Street and Howie Avenue
A man is recovering in hospital from gunshot wounds after the fourth shooting in Coquitlam in a week, while police say they are working hard to keep the community safe.
Coquitlam RCMP have so far connected two shootings from earlier in the week to drugs and gangs, but have yet to say if a shooting Sunday morning and one Saturday night are connected.
Around 11:00 a.m. PT Sunday, first responders rushed to treat a man shot near Gatensbury Street and Howie Avenue.
Police say the man is in stable condition and is expected to survive.
The incident follows one from Saturday night around 9:30 p.m. when police, who were already in the area doing patrols in response to shooting incidents from earlier in the week, heard shots ring out from Good Neighbour Park on Foster Avenue.
No victims or suspects were located and police are working to determine if the two incidents, occurring less than 24 hours apart, and just blocks from one another, are connected.
More shootings
Earlier this week two other men were shot in Coquitlam, which investigators say they believe were targeted and are related to drugs and gangs.
Police say the spate of violence is unsettling for the city and officers are working to solve the crimes.
"While unprecedented, these four shootings are none-the-less alarming and we want to reassure the public that they are being thoroughly assessed by our investigators and analysts to determine if there are any links or not to each other and to the wider Lower Mainland gang conflict," said a release from Coquitlam RCMP.
Coquitlam RCMP is working with other police units in the Lower Mainland in its investigations. It is also stepping up community patrols.
Police are asking anyone with information, or pictures or video of any of the shootings to contact them.