One man is dead and a Mountie is injured after a police shooting in South Surrey early Saturday morning.
Surrey RCMP say they responded to reports of a suicidal man screaming outside a police station in the 1800 block of 152 Street, at about 2:30 a.m.
They say officers responded, and got into a struggle with the man. He was shot, and later died.
An RCMP officer was also shot during the altercation and sustained a non-life threatening injury. Police say the circumstances of how that happened are under investigation.
Witness Andrea Taggart says the first thing she heard was a young man screaming.
"'Please, please help, they're going to kill me, please help me, they're going to kill me'," Taggart recalls hearing. "It went on for maybe a minute in total."
The next thing she heard was gunfire.
"I went downstairs to see if he needed help, and by the time I got to the end of the street the gunshots were ringing,” says Taggart.
Witness John Wright also heard the gunshots.
"I heard I think about seven shots from two different weapons....and then lots of sirens," he told CTV Vancouver.
The Independent Investigations Office has been called in to investigate. Officials have not yet said if the man who died was armed, and his identity has not been released.
"Our officer has received medical treatment and is expected to be released from hospital later today," said Supt. Dave Attfield from Surrey RCMP. “The scene has been secured and we anticipate that public access to the South Surrey office will be restricted in order to support the ongoing investigation."
This is the second fatal police shooting in B.C. this week.
On Thursday night, a man was shot outside a pub in Dawson Creek. Witnesses said he was brandishing a knife.
