THE Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO) said on Friday that it is seeking witnesses to a police-involved shooting that occurred in Agassiz on Thursday, June 19.
Information provided by the RCMP states, that officers initially responded around 7:45 p.m. to a residence on Highway 9 between McDonald Road and Bristol Drive for a call about a person damaging a home.
Police arrived and located the affected person, a woman outside who was reportedly in possession of a weapon. The woman then went inside the home.
An interaction occurred and shots were fired by officers.
Members of the Emergency Response Team arrived, and police then entered the house and located the affected person who had suffered a gunshot injury.
The woman was arrested and then air lifted to hospital for assessment and treatment.
According to the RCMP: “Officers attended and located a person with a handgun. The person reportedly pointed the gun at police before going into the home. The Integrated Emergency Response Team (IERT) was contacted and was on route, but the person reportedly once again pointed the gun and shot outside. Officers returned gun fire striking the person before they went back inside the home.”
There are two factors that the IIO considers at the beginning of each investigation:
- If there has been an injury that meets the threshold of serious harm, as defined by the Police Act, or a death; and
- If there is a connection between the serious harm/death and police action or inaction.
If both conditions are met, the investigation will continue to examine all available evidence to determine what occurred. At the conclusion of the investigation, the chief civilian director will also consider whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that an offence may have occurred.
The IIO is asking that any witnesses that have not already provided a statement, or who have video footage of the incident, to contact the IIO at its Witness Line toll-free at 1-855-446-8477 or via the contact form on the iiobc.ca website.
