Investigators with the province’s police watchdog were in Burnaby this morning after a suspect was shot by Burnaby RCMP.
Officers with the local RCMP detachment were called to a home in the 500 block of Clare Avenue around 1:47 a.m. on May 13 following reports an “unwanted” visitor at the residence. The caller told police the man might be carrying a knife, according to a media release from police.
When they arrived, officers were allegedly confronted by the suspect. When the suspect wouldn’t comply with the officers’ orders, they shot him, the release alleges.
The suspect was taken to hospital, and an update on his condition is expected later today, Kellie Kilpatrick, spokesperson for the Independent Investigations Office, told the NOW.
The Independent Investigations Office was deployed to the scene and has since confirmed that an “edged weapon” was found at the scene.
At this time, the watchdog’s primary investigator and forensic specialist are in Burnaby collecting evidence from the scene and speaking with witnesses. No new information has been released, and likely won’t be for some time as the investigation is in its preliminary stages, according to a media release from the Independent Investigations Office.
This is the fourth time this year the investigations office has been deployed to Burnaby.
About six weeks ago, on March 29, the Independent Investigations Office was called in by the Burnaby RCMP when a suspect was shot during an altercation at a home on 14th Avenue near Willard Street. The suspect, who was allegedly involved in a fatal stabbing, died of his injuries in hospital.
This was the third police-involved shooting in Burnaby in the month of March.
Nine days earlier, on March 20, another man was shot by Burnaby RCMP outside of the Lougheed Village apartments on Salish Court, and 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.
There are no new developments to report at this time in any of the investigations into the recent police-involved shootings, Kilpatrick told the NOW.
“What happens in these is, we send the firearm analysis off to the lab in Ottawa and they’re really stacked up, so I don’t think that we’re going to have anything on these for a while,” she said.
According to Kilpatrick, the investigations office only recently received, from Ottawa, the completed firearms analysis for a June 2014 incident in Burnaby.
“The investigative report is complete on that, and it’s just been sent, as of yesterday, to the Chief Civilian Director for his review of the evidence,” she added.
Burnaby RCMP would not comment on any of the recent police-involved shootings as the investigations are now in the hands of the independent police watchdog.
