British Columbia

Man killed in targeted shooting in East Vancouver identified

The shooting happened in front of Tillicum Community Annex, a community centre that also serves as an elementary school for children in the neighbourhood.

Shooting occurred in front of Tillicum Community Annex

Police at the scene the morning after a targeted fatal shooting July 25, 2018, at Tillicum Community Annex in Vancouver. (Gian-Paolo Mendoza/CBC)

A man is dead after a targeted shooting in East Vancouver on Wednesday evening.

Multiple shots were fired in the area of Cambridge and Nanaimo streets just before 8 p.m. PT, police confirmed. 

The victim, who police identified as 28-year-old Matthew Alexander Navas-Rivas, was walking his dog with a friend when he was approached by the gunman and shot. The suspect then fled in a waiting vehicle.

Police received multiple 911 calls regarding the incident and found Navas-Rivas suffering from gunshot wounds. He was taken to hospital and died a short time later.

His friend was uninjured.

Police at the scene of a targeted fatal shooting at Tillicum Community Annex in Vancouver, late July 25, 2018. (Gian-Paolo Mendoza/CBC)

Investigators believe the shooting was targeted, and say there is no further risk to the general public.

They are asking to speak to anyone with dashcam footage who was driving in the area of Nanaimo Street and Cambridge Stret between 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Police at the scene of a targeted fatal shooting at Tillicum Community Annex in Vancouver, late July 25, 2018. (Gian-Paolo Mendoza/CBC)

Parents concerned

Several residents in the neighbourhood said they heard up to a dozen gunshots before police arrived.

Police cordoned off an area surrounding Tillicum Community Annex — a community centre that also serves as a neighbourhood elementary school.

Friends Joy Parks and Sarah Mitchell say their children play regularly in the neighbourhood where a man was shot and killed on Wednesday evening. (Jon Hernandez/CBC)

"We're a family neighbourhood and everybody knows everybody," said Joy Parks, one of several nearby residents.

"It was completely out of the norm just to hear a parade of sirens going by. It's like, something is not right."

"My son goes to this school, and every night he's riding his bike [near the park]," she added. "Why is this happening in our neighbourhood?"

The shooting marks Vancouver's 12th homicide of 2018.

Neighbours say they heard as many as a dozen gunshots around 8 p.m. Wednesday. (Jon Hernandez/CBC)
Police taped off the area around Tillicum Community Annex overnight on Wednesday following a shooting near Cambridge Street and Nanaimo Street. (Jon Hernandez/CBC)

With files from Jon Hernandez and Gian-Paolo Mendoza