IHIT on scene at Ridge Meadows Hospital after shooting kills man
IHIT says shooting is 'believed to be targeted'
The Integrated Homicide Investigated Team is releasing few details about an early morning shooting in Maple Ridge that left one man dead.
At a media event at the Maple Ridge RCMP detachment on Haney Place, police did not reveal the age or identity of the victim, saying only that he has been identified and was known to police.
Earlier Friday, IHIT said it believed the shooting was targeted.
IHIT members have been on the scene at Ridge Meadows Hospital, where the man was pronounced dead, for much of the day, and they have taped off the emergency entrance.
Nearby, under an IHIT tarp, is a grey-and-white Kia sedan with a smashed-out back window. Police say that car is "connected" with the shooting death.
They are appealing to the public for any information.
Very few details from <a href="https://twitter.com/HomicideTeam?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HomicideTeam</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IHIT?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IHIT</a> will only say incident at Kin Park and vehicle seized outside hospital "connected". Not releasing victim's age or identity, only that he was known to police. <a href="https://twitter.com/cbcnewsbc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cbcnewsbc</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cbc?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#cbc</a> <a href="https://t.co/JzbDvZBDB7">pic.twitter.com/JzbDvZBDB7</a>
—@CBCtanyaGunfire at Kin Park
IHIT also said that early morning shots fired in the Kin Park area were "connected" to the vehicle found outside the ER, without elaborating further.
Kin Park is about a five minute drive from the hospital.
Bruce Maegher, who lives near the park, said his wife was awoken by the sound of gunfire at about 6 a.m. PT Friday.
"[She] said she heard a car scream away right afterwards," he said. "We hear gunshots once in a while, but, you know, it's pretty close to home.
"I come and go at all hours of the night as I work on call and I always see things happening in the park there. All you kinda do is slow down and take a good look at what's going on. It's pretty rampant."
With files from Tanya Fletcher