“Pop, pop, pop.”
That was the sound of a barrage that woke up some Burke Mountain neighbours early Sunday morning after a shooting that left one-man with non-life threatening injuries.
Residents in the 1400 block of Kingston Street told the Tri-City News they heard the shots but stayed inside while Coquitlam RCMP descended on the hilly street of large executive homes.
Coquitlam RCMP are not providing any further information at this time. However, Const. Deanna Law confirmed the detachment’s Investigative Support Team is on the case.
“They’re in the process of gathering information and speaking with witnesses,” Const. Law confirmed.
Residents of the street describe a strange sound at about 1 a.m. Sunday morning.
“It sounded to me like fireworks, I didn’t think anything of it,” said a resident who lives just down the street from the shooting.
He said he heard the sound “pop, pop, pop,” and then what sounded like a sports car driving off very loudly in the early morning hours.
Coquitlam RCMP said they responded to a call at about 1:03 a.m. and found a man who had sustained wounds from being shot. Multiple suspects were seen fleeing the area in a vehicle.
Shortly afterwards, officers located a car on fire in the 3500 block of Gislason Avenue — a four minute drive from the shooting — which police believed is connected.
Security footage aired by Global BC shows four men arriving in the area, taking off jackets, and putting putting gas cans in the suspect vehicle before setting fire to it.
They drive off as the vehicle erupts into a ball of flame.
The area where the burning car was found is in a newly developing area of Gislason, where construction is underway on townhomes and there are empty lots.
It is unclear whether there is any connection to the Lower Mainland gang conflict, said a police news release.
“Evidence is currently being gathered and assessed with aim to further the investigation and identify those involved,” said the release.
However, the shooting occurred roughly an hour after another shooting in Richmond took the life of Dilraj Johal, who was in his 20s.
Johal was taken to hospital but later died of his injuries, said Sgt. Frank Jang, spokesperson with the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT).
The victim was known to police and his shooting is believed to be targeted, said Jang.
The Burke Mountain shooting comes about a month after another shooting that took place in Port Coquitlam outside the West Coast Iron gym on Broadway Street that left one man seriously injured.
RCMP’s Law said that there is no update on the. Dec. 7 shooting being investigated by the detachment’s Major Crime Unit. As well, Const. Law said police are not releasing the shooting victim's name.
However, the Vancouver Sun has reported that the victim was Andrew Cohoe, one of the owners of the gym.
But the Burke Mountain shooting, while serious, doesn’t seem to have upset many residents.
A woman by the name of Patsy at the Westwood Montessori Childcare Centre said she heard the gun shots and stayed inside. She’s confident the police are handling the case and she wasn’t afraid.
Another man who answered the door a block away at Wessex Street said he, too, heard the gunshots but didn’t want to talk about the incident.
On the day the Tri-City News visited, the neighbourhood of large, attractive homes was quiet and there was no sign of the shooting.
Still, police are hoping new leads come to light in the coming days.
Coquitlam RCMP is asking anyone with information, dash cam video or CCTV video in the Burke Mountain shooting to contact the office at 604-945-1550 and quote file 2021-820.
— with files from the Richmond News
