Vancouver Police Department said it was called to an apartment building near Commercial Drive and East 5th Avenue at about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday following reports of an attack. “When the patrols arrived, there was an interaction that led to an exchange of gunfire,” the VPD said in a press release the next morning. Police said the suspect, who was a man in his 40s, died on the spot. The VPD said he was a resident of East Vancouver, but his identity was not disclosed. “I can not get into the behavior of the suspect. I can not get into anything that led to the arrival of the police. “This is something that will be washed away by the (Independent Research Office),” said Const. Tania Visintin during a press conference on Thursday morning. However, he confirmed that the initial attack took place inside the suspect’s suite. A police officer was injured and taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. “He went to the hospital last night, but now he is at home resting,” Visintin said. Witnesses told CTV News Vancouver they heard gunshots. “I heard sirens and then shots like bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. “So five shots, maybe six,” a witness, who did not want to be named, told CTV News. He looked out of his window and saw heavily armed police officers rushing to the house next door. It was then that he heard a knock on the door. He says an officer with regular equipment asked to come in and use his window to his advantage. “They started breaking windows,” he said. He says he was told to wait in the room. “We heard them working and some shots were heard while we were hiding in the corridor. “And then I think they shot that person,” he said. He says he did not see the victim. “The last shot that fell was the end of all the confusion and it sounded like it came from my window.” The IIO, the BC police guard, confirmed on Thursday morning that it was investigating the shooting by the police. “When the officers arrived, there was an exchange of gunfire. “The man was shot and died on the spot,” the IIO said in a press release. Now ask anyone with more information about the incident to contact the control line at 1-855-446-8477 or via the contact form on the iiobc.ca website. The IIO is a citizen-led police surveillance service responsible for conducting investigations into deaths or serious injuries that may have been the result of a police officer’s actions or inaction. Other residents of the building were forced to evacuate. “The police came and knocked on our door and pulled us out with their guns drawn, as if they were secretly coming out, giving us instructions on how to escape,” said Robbie, who left the building. “We were told he was a downstairs guy with a gun who had been shooting at police for the last 30 minutes.” The medical examiner arrived at the scene shortly before 6 a.m., removing a body on a stretcher. There was also a strong police presence with more than a dozen cruisers and a heavily armed tactical vehicle outside an apartment on East 5th Avenue. Much of the neighborhood was placed behind police tape as investigators searched the area. The witness was upset about what happened in his house. “I told the SWAT press, ‘Well, I have to go have a drink because I can’t handle it right now,’” he told CTV News. The VPD described it as a “high-risk situation”, confirming that an emergency response team and an Aries armored vehicle had been deployed. “This was an exchange of shots at 8:30 pm on Drive here, very crowded. “A bunch of restaurants, a bunch of pedestrians,” said Visintin. “Whenever there is an exchange of shots. “Where a life in particular was killed, this is obviously very worrying for us, which concerns not only the police, but also the public.” East 5th Avenue on Commercial Drive is expected to be closed for several hours.
