A man has died following an "exchange of gunfire" with police in East Vancouver Wednesday night.
People in the area of Commercial Drive and East 5th Avenue reported hearing multiple shots fired, which Vancouver Police have now confirmed involved their interaction with an alleged assault suspect.
The VPD says it responded after 8:30 p.m. to reports of an alleged assault in an apartment building, and the gunfire ensued when patrol officers arrived.
The suspect, who police say is a man in his 40s, subsequently died.
One VPD officer was injured and taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Locals who were in the area shared their experiences on social media:
"I was watching a movie when I heard what I thought was someone banging on a dumpster to scare away an animal. Saw flashing lights and went out onto the balcony to see two officers in the alley below me with pistols drawn. They grabbed a ladder from the construction site on 5th and I heard the distinct sound of a window breaking. I unwisely hung around until I heard 5 or 6 shots fired and I hightailed it to a safer place," reports one Reddit user.
"I work right there and they locked us down for two hours. I just got out of there. Some of my customers saw what happened," added another Reddit user.
A few others tweeted about what they experienced:
The area was closed off to traffic, transit, and pedestrians, and some area residents say police knocked on their doors to see if they were okay.
Vancouver Police note that the Independent Investigations Office is investigating the fatal shooting.
