A drive-by shooting in Surrey ended in a high-speed car chase, flying bullets, crash and arrests after the victim chased down his apparent assailants.
RCMP say the incident started around 8 p.m. Monday after the driver of a red pickup truck called 911 to say that he had confronted a “suspicious parked vehicle” in his neighbourhood.
The parked white Pontiac fled, but not before taking aim and firing several shots at the truck, says RCMP.
The driver of the truck decided to chase them “at a high rate of speed,” and shots were fired as the vehicles sped along Highway 99.
They ended up in 21 kilometers away in Delta, near a container facility on River Road and 80th street. That’s when the suspect vehicle crashed into a power pole.
“The citizen continued past the crash location and remained on scene awaiting police who arrived shortly afterwards,” said Sgt. Paul Hayes in a statement issued to media.
The three people inside the white car were hurt and taken to hospital in police custody – their hands in cuffs and covered in paper bags to preserve evidence. Two were cleared and sent to the Surrey cell block and the third remains in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. A firearm was also recovered at the crash scene.
The driver of the truck was injured by shattered glass.
Sgt. Hayes said the truck driver refused to stop pursuing the vehicle despite several requests from police. He cautioned people against pursuing suspects of any kind.
“When you pursue a vehicle or suspect, not only are you putting your life and the general public’s lives at risk, you risk being charged yourself and could face criminal and civil consequences. We encourage citizens who notice suspicious people or vehicles to contact the police instead of confronting people themselves.”
Mounties say the three men in the car are known to police, and there’s no indication that they know the person in the other vehicle.
What motivated the shooting is under investigation and charges are pending. RCMP say they are not ruling out charges against the driver of the pickup truck.
One of the suspects, Cory Lee Myers, 25, of Surrey, has a Canada Wide warrant for failing to comply with probation, as well as a local warrant for Break and Enter.
Investigators are asking any potential witnesses to come forward.