IIO investigates after man shot outside Surrey strip mall
'He wasn't yelling... He was pleading,' witness says
A man is in serious condition after a shooting involving the Surrey RCMP, and the province's Independent Investigations Office has now taken over the investigation.
Emergency crews responded to a strip mall in Surrey's Guildford neighbourhood just after 5 p.m. PT Thursday night. The BC Ambulance Service rushed a man with a serious gunshot wound to hospital.
Police were initially called out to the area near 148th Street and 108 Avenue for a vehicle check.
Injured man surrendered, witness says
Dean Fix, a delivery driver at the pizza place next door, witnessed the shooting.
"I was pulling out to take off with my deliveries, and this police car came rushing in, and they bolted out of the car with their guns drawn," he said.
Fix said he heard several gunshots, but could not make out any dialogue between the officers, or the exact words the man who had been shot was saying.
"He wasn't yelling... He was pleading. It sounded like, 'Don't fire, don't shoot' or something," said Fix.
IIO to investigate
Because RCMP were involved in the shooting, the case has been turned over to the Independent Investigations Office.
At this point, investigators say the case is in the preliminary stages and can only provide limited details about what happened.
"Even at this time we can't say how many members were involved or how many witnesses there were because it is all an ongoing investigation," said IIO spokesman Richard Rosenthal.
Investigators say they are looking for more witnesses to help complete the picture of what happened at the strip mall as the investigation continues.
With files from the CBC's Emily Elias