Vancouver police have recommended an attempted murder charge against a 16-year-old boy in a shooting that left a man with “life-altering” injuries.

On May 11, police were called to the area of Nanaimo and Dundas streets at about 3 p.m. where they found a 19-year-old man with gunshot wounds.

The victim was taken to the hospital where he stayed for some time before being released. Const. Brain Montague said the man is still recovering from “life-altering injuries.”

“We believe the shooting is linked to drugs and that it is targeted,” Montague said.

The 16-year-old boy is known to police and has been in custody on unrelated matters since May 13. While Montague said the incident is troubling, it did not come as a shock to Vancouver law enforcement. Montague said the teen boy became a person of interest early in the investigation and has a history of involvement with violent incidents.

“It’s pretty concerning… I will tell you though that it’s not a huge surprise,” Montague said. “I think it’s something we’re maybe seeing a little more of but [it’s] not completely uncommon for us to be dealing with individuals who are 14, 15, 16, 17 years old that have a history of guns and violence and associations with gangs,” Montague said.

Due to the boy’s age, police are not able to release his name or details about his background. The victim’s name has not been released.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Vancouver Police Major Crime Unit at 604-717-2541 or remain anonymous by calling Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

With files from CTV Vancouver’s Shannon Paterson