A 24-year-old man has been charged with first-degree murder in relation to a January 2024 shooting in Coquitlam that left a 21-year-old man dead, the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) announced on Monday.

On January 6, 2024, at approximately 4:14 p.m., Coquitlam RCMP responded to a report of a shooting in the area of Westwood Street and Glen Drive in Coquitlam. Frontline officers attended the scene and located a man suffering from life-threatening injuries. The victim was taken to a local hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.

IHIT assumed conduct of the investigation and worked in close partnership with Coquitlam RCMP, BC Coroners Service, and the Integrated Forensic Identification Service (IFIS) to advance the investigation.

The victim was identified as a 21-year-old man from Coquitlam. This was a brazen shooting near a busy intersection in Coquitlam at a time when there had been an uptick in shootings in the city, police said.

The initial investigation led police to believe this was a targeted shooting with a nexus to organized crime. Upon assessment by IHIT’s Integrated Gang Homicide Team (IGHT), this case was prioritized as a project-based investigation due to its complexity and the need for specialized resources.

On October 17, 2025, IGHT investigators, with the support of the Lower Mainland District Integrated Emergency Response Team (LMD IERT), arrested 24-year-old Tyrel O’Hearn of Coquitlam. The BC Prosecution Service laid one count of first-degree murder against O’Hearn, who remains in custody.

“Any time organized criminals operate and bring their violence to communities, it demonstrates their disregard for the safety of others,” says IHIT Sgt. Freda Fong. “Due to the fluid nature of the gang landscape, we must continue to finetune our approach in tackling these crimes, and IGHT is designed to do that.”

“The addition of IGHT to IHIT has enhanced our capacity for investigating gang-related homicides,” says Superintendent Mandeep Mooker, Officer-in-Charge of IHIT. “We have seen the benefit of our investigators’ expertise and involvement over the last 10 months, and this file is just one example of that. We are proud of this team’s focus and their continued efforts in making our communities safer from gang violence.”

As this matter is now before the courts, no further information will be released, police said.