Investigators with B.C.’s independent police watchdog were back in Burnaby Sunday morning after a suspect was shot by Mounties responding to a fatal stabbing.
At about 5:50 a.m. on March 29, Burnaby RCMP was called to the 6100 block of 14th Avenue near Willard Street following reports of a stabbing.
When officers arrived on scene, there was a confrontation with one of the alleged suspects and shots were fired, hitting the suspect, according to a media release from the Independent Investigations Office.
Both the injured suspect and stabbing victim were taken to hospital – neither survived their injuries, according to the Independent Investigations Office.
At this time, B.C. Coroners Service is conducting an investigation into the suspect’s cause of death, the release added.
“Due to the preliminary stages of the investigation and the significant concurrent investigation, no other information will be provided at this time,” stated the release.
No one else was injured during the incident. A second suspect was arrested at the scene and taken into custody.
This is the third time the Independent Investigations Office has been called to Burnaby for a police-involved shooting this month.
On March 1, a suspect was shot by Burnaby Mounties following an alleged attempted robbery at the 7-Eleven at Canada Way and Edmonds Street. Nineteen days later, on March 20, another man was shot by officers outside of the Lougheed Village apartments on Salish Court. Both incidents are still under investigation by the Independent Investigations Office.
Burnaby RCMP would not comment on the three police-involved shootings his month as the investigations are now in the hands of the independent police watchdog.
Prior to these incidents, the police watchdog’s office had only been deployed to Burnaby a handful of times. In 2014, investigators were sent to Burnaby after officers used a taser on a suspect. After he was detained, the suspect became unresponsive and died. In 2013, Burnaby RCMP shot and killed 45-year-old Ryan Jacob during a confrontation on Hastings Street on Jan. 31. Later that year, on Sept. 18, a suspect died while in police custody.
Since April 1, 2014, the Independent Investigations Office has investigated 11 officer-involved shootings across the province.
Anyone with information on either of the shootings is asked to contact the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. at 1-778-988-1041.
Meanwhile, officers with the Integrated Homicide Investigations Team have taken over the investigation into the fatal stabbing that preceded the shooting. Investigators believe three people were involved in the dispute at a home on 14th Avenue, including the deceased victim, the suspect who was shot by Burnaby RCMP and the suspect who remains in custody, according to a media release from the homicide team.
Anyone with information on the fatal stabbing March 29 are asked to contact the homicide team tipline at 1-877-551-4448 or email at ihittipline@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.
