Mounties in Surrey are asking for the public's help in their search for suspects after a 12-year-old boy was shot with a pellet gun over the weekend.
The child, whose identity CTV News has agreed to hide due to safety concerns, was sledding at Hillcrest Park on Sunday when he suddenly found himself being shot at.
"I was like getting hit in the back of the head—all over the back," he told CTV News.
He still can't see properly out of his right eye as a result of the incident.
"I turned right around and then got shot right in the eye and they're like two feet away from me…and then I just started running and running terrified," he added.
The boy was able to run home and then went to hospital. He is expected to make a full recovery.
The victim's mother said she was "really stunned" by the attack.
"It's such an unlikely incident in our neighbourhood, so it was quite a shock to have happen," Julie Pender said. "It's very scary and it could've been worse."
Police said the incident also serves a reminder of how dangerous these weapons—although not firearms—can be.
"We're very thankful this didn't result in a serious injury," said Cpl. Elenore Sturko. "Many people don't realize, but pellet guns and BB guns—they are not toys and they can cause serious or life-altering injuries."
Mounties conducted patrols of the park, but were not able to locate the suspects, who were both allegedly carrying assault-style pellet guns.
It's believed both suspects may be young males.
"One of the suspects was wearing a black jacket with a black tube covering their face with a camouflage tight mask," Sturko said. "The other person was wearing grey pants and a black toque."
Anyone with information that could advance the investigation is asked to contact police at 604-599-0502 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).
Meanwhile, Pender hopes people will take the police's message to heart.
"These really are quite dangerous," she said. "If you are getting one for someone as a child or youth, you want to make sure that they know how to properly use them."
With files from CTV Vancouver's Maria Weisgarber