THE Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO) is investigating a fatal police-involved shooting that occurred in Burnaby on Tuesday, January 13.

Information provided by the RCMP states that officers were responding to a call about a person in distress at a home near the intersection of Carleton Avenue and Oxford Street.

Officers arrived at the home at about 8 p.m. where they encountered a woman who was reportedly in possession of weapons.

There was an interaction between the woman and police, and shots were fired by police. The woman suffered gunshot injuries and was pronounced deceased at the scene.

The IIO was notified shortly after the incident occurred and has begun an investigation.

There are two factors that the IIO considers at the beginning of each investigation:

1. If there has been an injury that meets the threshold of serious harm, as defined by the Police Act, or a death; and
2. If there is a connection between the serious harm / death and officer 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 consider whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that an offence may have occurred.

The IIO requests any witnesses who have information or video footage regarding this matter to contact it at its Witness Line toll-free at 1-855-446-8477 or via the contact form on the iiobc.ca website.