Investigators confirm a man has died from a shooting in Coquitlam on Saturday, May 22.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) says the victim was gunned down near the corner of Henderson Avenue and Hart Street around 5:30 p.m. from what is believed to be a targeted event.
Around that same time, residents of the Maillardville neighbourhood — both at the scene and on social media — said they heard between three and six gunshots coming from an alleyway adjacent to a home.
Police taped off the area and placed a yellow tarp next to a vehicle, covering what looked like a body. IHIT said in a statement that it was still working to identify the victim.
This is the second deadly shooting in Coquitlam's vicinity in the last month.
On April 19, 20-year-old Bailey McKinney was murdered near a basketball court in Town Centre Park, which was also linked to the targeted hit on a gangster gunned down at Coal Harbour the weekend prior.
About two weeks earlier, on April 4, a man was shot near Gatensbury Street and Howie Avenue hours after another apparent shooting near Good Neighbour Park. No victim was located in the latter incident.
Those came on the heels of another report of shots fired March 31 on 600-block North Road that left one man with non-life-threatening injuries. And on March 29, a male victim was transported to hospital after a confirmed shooting on 300-block Decaire Street.
Saturday's shooting also follows a string of gang-related shootings across the lower mainland in recent weeks.
On May 8, 19-year-old Toni Dalipi was shot to death outside a vape store on Sixth Street near 13th Avenue in Burnaby at about 7 p.m. Police said it was a gang-linked shooting.
Murder charges were laid against 20-year-old Ahmed Riyaz Tahir two days later, on May 10.
Then, on May 13, more gunshots rang out at Market Crossing shopping centre on Marine in South Burnaby, just after 8:30 p.m.
That shooting killed 23-year-old Jaskeert Kalkat and seriously injured two others, a man and woman, both in their 20s, according to IHIT, and all three victims were known to police.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Police are on scene at an alleged fatal shooting in Coquitlam this evening (May 22).
According to multiple reports, Mounties are investigating in an alleyway adjacent to a residence located near the corner of Henderson Avenue and Hart Street in the Maillardville area.
In photos and video provided to Tri-City News, a yellow tarp is seen placed over what appears to look like a body next to a vehicle and police have taped off a large portion of the area to investigate.
Local residents are saying they heard gunshots around 5:30 p.m.
One woman who says she's lived in the neighbourhood for five years explains she was on her balcony tending to her plants when she heard six shots.
"I live down really long driveway and when I looked across the street, I saw someone running away and they had blue pants on a blue shirt on. I think it was a male and that's all I saw."
Another resident explains he was watching a hockey game on TV when he also heard the sound of gunshots.
"I heard probably about three or four shots. It sounded like someone was lighting fireworks and about a half-an-hour later, there were cops everywhere."
- with files from Janis Cleugh and Mario Bartel, Tri-City News, and Cornelia Naylor, Burnaby NOW
