North Vancouver neighbours who were awakened by gunfire outside their homes in the early hours of Sunday morning say they are concerned for their safety following what police are calling a targeted shooting in their neighbourhood.
Neighbours of a home at 462 East 11th Street said they were woken at about 3 a.m. Sunday morning to the ‘pop pop pop’ of shots being fired.
Video surveillance from one nearby residence reportedly showed two men getting out of a vehicle in a nearby alley, followed by at least one of the men shooting towards the back of the house, said one neighbour who asked not to be identified. That video has been provided to police, the neighbour said.
Neighbours woke to gunfire
Neighbours who heard the gunfire said they counted about half a dozen shots.
North Vancouver RCMP confirmed multiple shots were fired at the house, which has been the subject of repeated calls about drug deals and violence. There were no signs to indicate anyone was injured in the shooting, according to police.
But neighbours said the violence makes them feel unsafe.
'What if they get the wrong house?'
“It’s a very scary escalation. What if they get the wrong house?” said one. “We’re very vulnerable and feeling very nervous about it.”
Another neighbour said the shooting underlines growing concerns about the increase in violence and drug activity in the city neighbourhood.
Police said witnesses reported seeing two people flee the scene in a newer model white Toyota RAV 4, following the shooting. The vehicle was last seen driving away from the scene on Moody Avenue.
Investigators have identified the type of gun used in the shooting and are continuing to examine evidence collected at the scene, said Sgt. Peter DeVries, spokesman for the North Vancouver RCMP detachment.
Police are also following up on a number of leads from the public and are sharing information with detachments across the Lower Mainland, said DeVries.
No suspects identified yet
So far police have not identified either suspects or who the intended target of the shooting may have been, said DeVries. So far, there’s also no information to link the shooting to the more general Lower Mainland gang conflict, he added.
DeVries said police are taking the shooting very seriously. “Obviously it’s alarming for the community and it’s concerning for us,” he said. “It’s an awful thing to have happen in your neighbourhood.”
House subject of numerous complaints
The house in the Ridgeway neighbourhood has been the subject of numerous complaints from residents for several years, about everything from loud public fights on the property, fires in the backyard, open drug deals in the street and a near-constant stream of strangers going in and out.
Neighbours say they’ve seen police entering the home with guns drawn, and an incident where one person from the house brandishing a machete chased another person down the street.
The house, which operates as an unofficial rooming house, is owned by Celine Goh, who lives in Lynn Valley.
Goh told the North Shore News in February she has no control over activities by tenants that have resulted in complaints.
