SURREY — A 21-year-old man showed up at a local hospital suffering from a gunshot wound Monday night, roughly 40 minutes after a shooting in Newton.
"Officers are investigating whether there are any linkages," Surrey RCMP Corporal Scotty Schumann said Tuesday. "The victim's injury is not considered life threatening."
Two vehicles were seen taking off from the scene of a shooting in the 12800-block of 60th Avenue at about 8 p.m. Monday. No victims were found in the area. Police have not provided a description of the vehicles.
They barricaded the area with police tape and spoke with witnesses but have yet to make an arrest. Four and a half hours later, there was a second shooting, this time in the 10100-block of 127th Street in Whalley. Bullets struck the front door and front window.
"The family dog was also found deceased inside the residence and it's believed the animal may have died from a gunshot wound," Schumann said. "There was one person in the residence at the time of the incident that was unharmed.
"At this point the incident appears to be targeted but not associated to the violence between low-level drugs dealers that spiked in March," he said. "At this point we have not located any witnesses to this incident, but it's possible someone in the neighbourhood saw a person or vehicle that looked suspicious."
These two confirmed shootings bring the tally of shootings in Surrey in 2016 to 42, although there have been more the police have not reported to the public.
"We don't report on all incidents," Sergeant Alanna Dunlop said, one of which involved a domestic fight.
Not all of the 42 have been drive-by shootings. Earlier this year at a press conference Superintendent Shawn Gill told reporters police "don't want to create fear when there's no need to."
"We need to be responsible when we do go out to the media," he said.
Meantime, police are asking anyone with information about these latest shootings to contact the Surrey RCMP's General Investigation Unit at 604-599-0502 or Crime Stoppers, if they wish to remain anonymous, at 1-800-222-TIPS.
tom.zytaruk@thenownewspaper.com