Man, child injured during officer-involved shooting; B.C.'s police watchdog investigating
B.C.'s police watchdog says it's investigating an officer-involved shooting that sent a man and a child to hospital over the weekend.
Mounties in Merritt say were trying to stop a truck Sunday that was believed to have stolen property on a flat-deck trailer. Just before 4 p.m., officers tried to pull the truck over but the driver fled from police.
The team spotted the truck again at about 5:30 p.m., but this time without the trailer. Police used a spike belt, and while the vehicle initially stopped, the driver eventually continued, and allegedly fired gunshots at officers. Police were seen collecting shell casings from the area on Monday.
After driving with blown out rear tires for several minutes, the driver eventually came to stop on Highway 8 near Snake Road and Highway 97C.
Merritt resident Kelly Prosper was visiting his uncle with his three young children when the truck stopped in front of the yard. Prosper said he saw a gun in the driver’s hand.
“I was terrified," he said.
According to Prosper, the driver got out of the vehicle and opened fire on the police officers pursuing him. He estimated roughly 200 rounds went off in a span of three minutes.
“We hit the ground. There were bullets flying everywhere," he said.
Prosper assumes the suspect had an automatic gun. The bullets flew just metres away from his kids, aged seven, eight, and 12.
“I didn’t know what to do. I ran and grabbed my kids and put them inside. My other son was in the field because he hid behind a tractor.”
B.C.'s Independent Investigations Office said a man in his 40s and his 11-year-old child were inside the truck. The IIO said the man suffered at least one gunshot wound. The child was also seriously hurt, but was seen walking towards police with his hands up once the shootout ended.
“We’re not exactly sure how his injuries were caused,” sid Ron MacDonald, chief civilian director of the IIO. “His injuries are not life threatening, nor are the adult male’s.”
Police say nobody else was hurt. The IIO is now investigating to determine whether police actions or inactions are linked to the two injuries.
The IIO is asking anyone with information about the incident to call its witness tip line at 1-855-446-8477.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.