A man was found shot inside a pickup truck near a community centre in North Vancouver late Saturday night in what appears to be yet another targeted hit in the Lower Mainland.
Police aren't sure why the Asian man in his 20s was parked near the Delbrook Community Centre while a group of young men his age were playing ball hockey inside.
"Delbrook is a quiet neighbourhood," RCMP Cpl. Randall Wong told CTV at the crime scene. "We don't see a lot of this stuff.
"It's a shock to the police and the public," he said.
Police haven't identified the victim, who was found at about 11:15 p.m. Saturday after police answered complaints that people had heard gunshots.
That's where they found the Ford 4 by 4 truck parked there, with a man in the driver's seat.
Police dogs and the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team were called, said Wong. Residents watched as police cordoned off the area with tape.
When asked if the public should be concerned, Wong said, "Absolutely. There's someone out there with a gun."
A total of six men have been fatally shot in Metro Vancouver so far this year and it's only February 10th.
But Cpl. Dale Carr of the RCMP's Integrated Homicide Investigation Team told CTV that just because there have been few arrests doesn't mean that the police don't know who is likely behind the hits.
Often times, when they ask for approval from prosecution lawyers who will try the case in court, they are told that the witnesses are unsavoury and that won't result in convictions.
"We've got all of the evidence, we have witnesses lined up, and crown has stated or commented that it doesn't meet their charge standard," said Carr.
But Attorney-General Wally Oppal says the Crown isn't to blame.
"We're like anyone else. We want to see convictions here," he said. "But we also don't want to see wrongful convictions based on witnesses who may be unsavoury witnesses who have criminal records who aren't telling the truth."
He says the crown and police are working closer than ever to bring charges in these cases. In the meantime, Metro Vancouver's body count continues to climb.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Rob Brown