One man is dead and another is in critical condition in hospital after a targeted double shooting inside a Clovedale, B.C., strip club.
Police say the shooter walked into the Legacy Show Lounge inside the Clover Inn Motor Hotel, east of Vancouver, just past 11:00 p.m. and headed straight for the bathroom.
While inside, he opened fire on the two men.
The pair was rushed to hospital in advanced life support ambulances. The first victim, a 34-year-old Surrey man, died from his injuries in hospital. The second, a 28-year-old also from Surrey, remains in critical but stable condition. He is still unconscious.
Cpl. Dale Carr of the Integrated Homicide Team says the shooting looks targeted, but the incident has not been linked to gangs, drugs or organized crime. The deceased is not known to police, but the injured man is.
Investigators are still trying to figure out which of the two victims was the intended target.
"We have learned so far that both the victims were not known to each other," Carr said.
"That leads us to believe that one of them may be a bystander. We haven't conclusively made that determination but it's certainly something we're looking at."
Insp. Derren Lench of the Surrey RCMP said they are looking for two men, one in his early 20s, in connection with the shooting.
"We received some information the two men fled the scene around the time of the shooting, wearing hoodies and one possibly carrying a small handgun," Lench said.
"We weren't able to find anyone or confirm the information but it's certainly an angle we're following up on."
Police are now trying to track down people who were inside the club at the time of the shooting. Many patrons fled after the incident.
The shooting took place only a few blocks away from the Cloverdale Fairgrounds, where thousands of people flocked this long weekend to take in the annual Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair.
With files from The Canadian Press
