Shootout prompted highway closure near Prince George, RCMP say
Stretch of Hwy 16 between Upper Fraser Road and Willow River rest area shut down for several hours Tuesday
UPDATE — May 30, 2025: B.C.'s Independent Investigations Office said it has closed its investigation after determining that the man's injuries did not meet the threshold for serious harm, as defined by the Police Act.
A shootout with RCMP led to one man being injured and a prolonged highway closure near Prince George, B.C., investigators say.
According to police, members of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit were conducting "proactive patrols" with local RCMP in an area east of Prince George when they attempted to stop a "suspect vehicle."
"The driver exited and allegedly shot at police before fleeing in the vehicle," RCMP Staff Sgt. Kris Clark wrote in a news release.
According to B.C.'s Independent Investigations Office (IIO), after the initial shooting, officers were able to track the subject and his Volvo to a forest service road.
"There was an exchange of gunfire, and the driver of the Volvo, a man, sustained non-life-threatening injuries. He was transported to a hospital for treatment," the office said in the statement.
The IIO is now investigating, as they do whenever a person is injured after an interaction with police.
During the incident, a stretch of Highway 16 about 30 kilometres east of Prince George, B.C., was closed for several hours in what Cpl. Jennifer Cooper described as "an incredibly dynamic event."
She said members of the North District Emergency Response Team and B.C.'s anti-gang unit, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, responded to the incident along with police dogs and a helicopter.