Police investigators spoke to witnesses and gathered evidence at the scene of a shooting in North Vancouver near 12th and Lonsdale Tuesday afternoon. photo Mike Wakefield, North Shore News Previous
A woman was rushed to hospital in critical condition Tuesday morning after being shot near 12th Street and Lonsdale Avenue in North Vancouver.
Police told the public to stay away and cordoned off a parking lot and part of an alley behind businesses in the 1100 block of Lonsdale after responding to reports of shots being fired around 11 a.m.
Police who arrived on the scene found a woman suffering from gunshot wounds, said Sgt. Peter DeVries, spokesman for the North Vancouver RCMP. At press time, the woman remained in critical condition, and the emergency room at Lions Gate Hospital had been placed under extra security with restricted access.
Police were actively searching for a suspect immediately following the reports of shots being fired and said that it was “not a random attack,” adding that the public was not in immediate danger.
DeVries said no arrests had been made yet.
About half a dozen investigators remained on the scene at about 1:30 p.m. with police activity appearing to centre on the ground next to a black Jeep Sahara parked in the parking lot.
A nearby real estate office immediately adjacent to the parking lot was closed and remained behind police tape.
DeVries said the area surrounding the scene will be cordoned off for a “significant amount of time” as investigators from the North Vancouver RCMP’s serious crime unit gather evidence.
Employees in other nearby businesses told the North Shore News they hadn’t seen or heard anything unusual and had been unaware of the shooting until police and media began appearing on the scene.
DeVries described the midday shooting in the busy central Lonsdale area as unusual. “This is a safe community.”
DeVries said anyone with information on the shooting can call the North Vancouver RCMP at 604-985-1311 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
