SURREY — The Independent Investigations Office has been called in to investigate after a Surrey Mountie shot a man in the chest outside a house in Whalley on Thursday morning as police were responding to a complaint of domestic violence.
The shooting happened near Scott Road and 100th Avenue at about 7 a.m.
Mounties responding to a "domestic dispute" and report of a woman having been stabbed in a basement suite were allegedly confronted by a man armed with a knife.
Corporal Janelle Shoihet, a spokeswoman for the RCMP's "E" Division headquarters, said "a Surrey RCMP officer encountered a male with a knife, outside the residence. During the interaction the male was shot by police."
Aidan Buckley, a spokesman for the IIO, said police reported that when they arrived at the house "an interaction occurred" between an officer and the man, and the man was shot.
"The focus of the IIO investigation is to determine if any officer may have committed an offence as a result of the injuries suffered by the male," Buckley said. "IIO investigators have been deployed to the scene and will be conducting tasks including obtaining physical evidence from the scene, interviewing any civilian witnesses and designating and interviewing officers."
Surrey RCMP's major crimes unit "is responsible for any concurrent investigation," he noted.
Shoihet said the RCMP "will be leading the domestic violence investigation with respect to the initial call and stabbing."
The IIO is asking for witnesses to call its investigators at 1-855-446-8477.
The man was taken by ambulance to Royal Columbian Hospital where he is in stable condition and the woman was also taken to hospital to be treated for injuries that are not considered to be life-threatening.
Numerous police were called to the scene.
The Surrey-based IIO was set up in September 2012 with the aim of keeping B.C. police officers accountable in cases involving in-custody deaths and serious injuries.
tom.zytaruk@thenownewspaper.com