One RCMP officer is dead after being shot and two other officers are seriously injured after an incident Friday morning in Coquitlam, about 30 kilometres east of Vancouver.
The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) of British Columbia confirmed the details in a media release that said the suspect involved has also been seriously injured and taken to hospital., along with the two injured officers.
IIO said Ridge Meadows RCMP were executing a search warrant on a residence near the intersection of Pinetree Way and Glen Drive in Coquitlam’s City Centre neighbourhood when it happened.
“While there, the attending officers became engaged in an altercation with a man which resulted in multiple officers being injured and the man being shot,” the release stated.
A large deployment of emergency responders, including police in tactical gear, were seen in the 2900-block of Glen Drive at around 11 a.m. PT.
Carley Hodges and Tracy Joseph said they witnessed two men injured and one person in handcuffs.
Eyewitness Carley Hodges said when police began arriving at the scene she saw one officer who was limping and bleeding from his leg.
“He had a tourniquet on. Someone was taken away in an ambulance and they were doing chest compressions. And someone in handcuffs in his underwear was taken away. And then [there were] cops coming with riot shields, battering rams and rifles,” said Hodges.
Eyewitness Tracy Joseph saw the SWAT team arrive.
“I think now there’s seven SWAT cars, there’s two police dogs upstairs and there’s a big truck. They have barricades, shields, it’s crazy,” Joseph said.
The Independent Homicide Investigations Team (IHIT) is investigating the officer’s death and the injuries of the two others.
Earlier in the day, B.C. Premier David Eby said a “critical incident” involving the RCMP had taken place in Coquitlam, but did not provide details.
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