The unidentified victim was found in a white Toyota Camry in the mall at King Edward Avenue and Oak Street; police said in a press release that the man was “clearly dead” as he sat slumped in the passenger seat of the vehicle.
Vancouver police spokesman Const. Brian Montague said that despite it being “early in the investigation” they believe the shooting was targeted. They are interviewing a large group of witnesses, witnesses police say were frightened by what they had seen.
“The area was busy with shoppers at the time, and as a result several witnesses have been taken by bus to a VPD building to be interviewed,” the police press release said. “Many of those witnesses were clearly shaken by the incident.”
Several calls about the shooting came into 911 at around 2 p.m., police said. It’s unclear if any of the witnesses actually saw the shooter approach the car and fire into it. As of this time police have not released a description of a suspect and it’s not known if they are looking for one or more persons.
Police have not said whether they believe this shooting to be related to what RCMP in Surrey say is an ongoing turf war between rival low-level drug gangs.
That dispute, believed to be between a South Asian gang and a Somalian gang, has seen dozens of targeted shootings this year and at least three deaths.
