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37-year-old man charged with murder in stabbing death of Burnaby Mountie

Jongwon Ham has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Const. Shaelyn Yang at a Burnaby park Tuesday.

A 37-old-man has been charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of an on-duty RCMP officer at a Burnaby park this week.

Charges were laid in Vancouver provincial court Wednesday against Jongwon Ham in the killing of Const. Shaelyn Yang Tuesday.

Murder is automatically first degree when the victim is a police officer, under the Criminal Code of Canada.

Yang, 31, died after being stabbed at Broadview Park near Canada Way and Curle Avenue.

Yang had attended the park with a City of Burnaby parks employee responding to a complaint, according to police

The suspect involved in the incident was sent to hospital with gunshot wounds but is expected to survive.  

Both the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) and the Independent Investigations Office are investigating the incident.

The IIO released new information Tuesday about an altercation that led to Yang's death.

On Wednesday, IIO chief civilian director Ron MacDonald confirmed the altercation between Yang and the suspect had been caught on CCTV video at a nearby business.

He confirmed Yang had shot the suspect at least once but was unable to confirm whether she had shot him before or after she was stabbed.

MacDonald said the man had been inside a tent at the park before the altercation, and the person who had come with Yang to the park had stayed at the scene.

"We're not certain of the number of shots that were fired, it's our information that she fired a shot at least at that individual who was involved," MacDonald said.

He said no other officers shot the man.

The security video shows "all of the incident," according to MacDonald.

"It's at some distance, but it provides us with excellent information ... Because of that, I expect our investigation will wrap up sooner than later," he said.

The IIO investigates incidents of death or serious harm that may have been the result of the actions or inactions of a police officer.

MacDonald said he couldn't provide any information that might jeopardize the IHIT investigation or any possible future trial.

Ham is in custody and is scheduled for a court appearance on Nov. 2.

Follow Cornelia Naylor on Twitter @CorNaylor
Email cnaylor@burnabynow.com