There was heavy police presence in the parking lot outside the Tim Hortons at Richmond Centre Monday night as RCMP responded to a drive-by shooting around 10:20 p.m.
According to the RCMP, the Mounties arrived on scene to find a 35-year-old man suffering from apparent gun-shot wounds.
The man is "believed" to live in North Vancouver, said Staff Sgt. Janelle Shoihet of the B.C. RCMP, but Mounties don’t know what he was doing in Richmond yesterday evening.
The mall parking lot was cordoned off for several hours by police as they investigated.
Witnesses reported seeing a 2-door silver sedan driving by, followed by gunshots fired by someone inside the vehicle, according to police. The driver fled the scene.
A video posted on YouTube (below) is understood to show the victim being tended to by police and a member of the public.
Shoihet said that it’s too early to determine if the shooting is gang-related, but that investigators believe that the victim “was indeed targeted.”
BC Emergency Health Services told the Richmond News that one man was transported to hospital in “serious condition,” after receiving calls from the police at 10:24 p.m. for a shooting incident near the mall.
An hour after Richmond RCMP responded to the shooting at the Richmond Centre, Vancouver Police (VPD) were called to the scene of a vehicle fire near Newport Avenue and Gladstone Street in South Vancouver. The vehicle matches descriptions provided by witnesses to Richmond RCMP.
Richmond RCMP and the Vancouver Fire Department were also on the scene in South Vancouver.
“We understand that this is unsettling for the entire community and want to assure our residents that at this time, our investigators have reason to believe that the victim, who is known to us, was targeted,” said Insp. Keith Bramhill of the Richmond RCMP.
“We are asking anyone who may have been a witness or may have been driving in the area and have dash-cam video to please call us.”
The Richmond Serious Crime Unit is leading the investigation into the incident, and is working with the VPD to determine any possible links.
