A male victim was injured Thursday afternoon when shots rang out at a busy strip mall in South Surrey.

Mounties were called to the 15200-block of 32 Avenue at approximately 3:30 p.m. after receiving several reports of the shooting.

When officers arrived at the scene, they were told that a male victim had been injured, but had fled the scene on foot. He was located a short distance away, and was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening wounds.

Officers later said the victim, a 28-year-old Coquitlam man who is known to police, was shot in the ankle, and is expected to fully recover. The shooting is believed to be targeted, they said.

“The victim, in this case, even tried to flee the scene before police got there,” said Cpl. Scotty Schumann. “He’s still not co-operating with police.”

In addition to the victim, bullets also hit a commercial building, a residential building and a car.

A man who works in the office building said one of the stray bullets went through the window of his colleague's office on the second floor. Fortunately no one was inside at the time.

"Little bit close to home," Dave MacLean said.

"This is a nice area so it was a real surprise, a real shock."

A witness told CTV News he'd heard between six and a dozen gunshots, which he described as a popping sound he initially thought might be firecrackers.

The shooting is Surrey's 27th this year, and the fourth in a week.

Last Thursday, officers were called to a shootout between a Honda Civic and a black Cadillac Escalade, and shooting was reported the next night near a busy banquet hall in Whalley. On Sunday, investigators were called to another shooting between two cars.

The spike in violence has prompted police to issue a rare warning.

“If you see cars idling occupied in your neighbourhood, that’s suspicious and we want to know about it right away,” Schumann said.

Police said it's too early in the investigation to determine whether the latest shooting is related to any of the others.

"The gang enforcement unit and the (Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit) are proactively working on this shooting and the other shootings," Insp. Keith Bramhill said Thursday night.

And to the suspects – as many as four people who left the scene in a black SUV – he had a message: "We are coming for you. We will find you. We will arrest you, and we will hold you accountable."

With a files from CTV Vancouver's Allison Tanner and Sarah MacDonald