RCMP widens investigation in B.C.’s Okanagan after fatal ferry shooting

SURREY, B.C. — The RCMP are examining possible links between two violent incidents in British Columbia’s Okanagan less than 24 hours before a deadly police-involved shooting Tuesday on Vancouver Island.

Sgt. Janelle Shoihet says a preliminary investigation has uncovered possible ties between a shooting that severely injured a man in Vernon and a carjacking in Penticton that injured another victim and ended with the theft of his vehicle.

The Vernon shooting happened at around noon on Monday, and Shoihet says a suspect was seen leaving the area in a 1996 grey Ford Crown Victoria.

Several hours later, RCMP in Penticton were alerted to a man allegedly carrying a gun and matching the description of the suspect in Vernon, followed just minutes afterwards by a call about a carjacking and the theft of a Pontiac Vibe.

The suspect escaped and the RCMP say in a news release the Pontiac was traced to a B.C. ferry arriving in Nanaimo on Tuesday morning, when police intercepted the vehicle as it left the vessel.

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An unnamed driver was killed Tuesday when shots were fired at the ferry terminal in Nanaimo, and the province’s police watchdog is now investigating.

“Investigators are actively working to either confirm or eliminate information in order to conclusively determine if the various incidents are connected, if they are connected to a single individual, or if others are involved,” the RCMP says in the release.

Police said Thursday they located the Ford Crown Victoria they had been looking for after a public appeal.

Const. Kelly Brett also said the 24-year-old man shot in Vernon remains in hospital in serious condition.

The RCMP investigation must take care not to impede the Independent Investigations Office as it looks into the Nanaimo shooting, says Supt. Ray Carfantan, assistant district officer of the RCMP’s southeast district.

“While we wish to advance these investigations, we must be mindful of the nexus to the ongoing Nanaimo investigation by the Independent Investigation Office of British Columbia,” he says in the news release. “We will continue to support the investigative needs of our units here in the Okanagan to enhance public safety, while respecting that the IIO BC leads the investigation on Vancouver Island.”

Ron MacDonald, the chief civilian director of the Independent Investigations Office, has said the agency must determine a number of things in its investigation, including whether the suspect was armed when he was stopped on Tuesday and if there was an exchange of gunfire between the suspect and police.

The agency investigates all police incidents that result in death or serious injury.

The Canadian Press