A man was shot early Thursday morning in North Burnaby after RCMP officers responded to a call of a knife-wielding man in the area.
The man was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to a press release from the province's independent investigations office.
The civilian-led office, which conducts criminal investigations into serious police-involved incidents, was established and signed memorandums of understanding with police forces in B.C. last summer.
The office was notified of the incident at 1:45 a.m. and sent seven investigators to the scene, the release added.
The police were responding to an early morning 911 call about a man with a knife in the 4100-block of Albert St. when they encountered the man, who allegedly matched the description given by the caller, at Hastings Street and McDonald Avenue, after which, the shooting occurred, according to the release.
"We'll be working with the coroner today to determine the identity of this gentleman and once that's determined, I'd expect the coroner would release that, of course after we've had a chance to contact the family and make sure they're all notified," said Owen Court, spokesperson for the office.
The next steps for the agency include gather evidence and interviewing witnesses, he added.
"When our people arrive at a scene like that, they'll obviously meet with the involved police agency, in this case the Burnaby RCMP," he said. "They'll review any physical evidence at the scene, they'll speak to witnesses - whether it's civilian witnesses or police witnesses or anyone that's available, they'll start a normal investigation."
Court said he couldn't offer an idea of how long the investigation might take at this point.
"These are large, complex investigations - someone has died here," he said. "These are big investigations, and they do take some time."
