SURREY — Surrey Mounties are investigating a shooting in Newton and two stabbings in Whalley following a busy weekend in Surrey.
The 28th local shooting since the beginning of March happened at about 8 p.m. Sunday night in the 13400-block of 70B Avenue, when two vehicles exchanged gunfire a short distance from W.E. Kinvig Elementary School and one hour before a peace march was to get underway several blocks away.
Surrey filmmaker and social activist Mani Amar organized the Candlelight Peace March in the wake of the numerous shootings in Surrey and North Delta.
Doug Elford with the Newton Community Association was still shaken up Monday morning, as the shooting happened right outside his home.
His son was walking home from the store just minutes before bullets rang out. His neighbour's daughter was walking back from the bus exchange.
"It's a little close to home at this point. It’s very emotional," he said.
"This is here. This is my yard. I want something done fricken now. This is enough. What are these bloody cops doing. Why aren’t they locking these guys up?" he continued. "Get these guys off the street.... Why aren’t you following them right when they get out of the house, and stay on top of them day and night, or lock them up."
Elford wants to know when the 100 new cops will arrive in Surrey, following the federal government approving the city's request for more officers.
"What are these timelines, can we speed things up a bit here?"
Sgt. David MacDonald said no injuries were reported in the latest shooting.
“This investigation is in its early stages and officers are still trying to determine if this incident is linked to any of the previous shootings that have occurred in Surrey and Delta,†MacDonald said.
Cpl. Scotty Schumann said police recovered bullet shells but don’t yet have suspects. “We don’t know who they were,†he said.
Meantime, police are also investigating a stabbing that happened in Whalley during a fight that erupted at a birthday party in the 14000-block of 102nd Avenue, at 12:10 a.m. Saturday. A man in his early 20s was stabbed in the neck and upper back. An ambulance rushed him to hospital, where he is expected to recover. Two young men were arrested close to the scene.
Just before midnight Sunday, a man in his mid-20s was stabbed in the chest after two groups got into a street fight in the 13300-block of 102nd Street.
Schumann said police have yet to determine a motive.
“It doesn’t appear to be a robbery,†he said. The victim’s group flagged down a police car and he was taken to hospital where he is expected to recover. Police have not identified suspects.