Victim in Maple Ridge daylight shooting identified

The identity of the victim in a daylight shooting yesterday in Maple Ridge has been independently verified as Franz Prokop, according to sources that spoke with CBC News today.

Ridge Meadows RCMP, the unit responsible for the investigation, has not confirmed the victim was in fact Prokop.

They have confirmed, however, that a man called police at 12:40 p.m. on Saturday afternoon to report that he’d been shot on a property just east of 240 Street on Lougheed Highway.

Prokop is a former Maple Ridge city councillor and currently works as a Realtor. The property where the shooting took place,  for sale for $1.88 million, is one of his listings.

His employer, Macdonald Realty, issued a written statement today.

"Macdonald Realty at this time is making no comment about Mr. Prokop.  A police investigation is underway and we do not want to compromise the investigation," the company wrote.

In 2011, a Don Cherry’s sports bar owned by Prokop burned down under suspicious circumstances and his last known address is in Coquitlam, though he apparently hasn’t lived there for a number of years.

Helmut Ninaus, Prokop’s former neighbour, says that he was always very friendly.

"We would see him almost every day. He may just go in and out, we would wave and say hello," he says.

Investigators are still waiting to speak with Prokop, who is recovering from gunshot wounds in hospital.  

RCMP Cpl. Alanna Dunlop says it remains unclear why Prokop was at the property, if he was with anyone else, and if any residents of the area can aid the investigation.

"We will need to determine exactly what the injuries are and speak to the victim himself as well as canvass the area and speak to witnesses that may have seen what had happened or heard something," says Dunlop.

Police are asking anyone with information to call Ridge Meadows RCMP.