Police are on the scene of a fatal shooting in downtown Maple Ridge on Saturday night.
According to witnesses, a man was shot as he left Olympians Gym at 22611 Lougheed Hwy. at about 4:30 p.m.. Witnesses reported hearing numerous shots.
Seth McConville, 19, was working out at the gym that night, and said the shooting victim was a regular there.
The middle aged man left the gym, and McConville soon heard two shots ring out, that he said sounded like plates smashing. They were followed by more shots in rapid succession – about eight to 10 in total he estimated.
Everyone in the gym ran to the farthest part of the building, and staff locked the door. Then they saw a red four-door sedan speed away, from the same gym parking lot, he said.
Police were on the scene almost immediately – the Ridge Meadows RCMP detachment is two blocks away.
McConville went out to the parking lot, and saw the victim sitting in his car. He had been obviously shot, through the windows of the vehicle, and appeared lifeless.
He said RCMP officers attempted CPR on the victim.
The police told him to go back inside the gym.
“I was in shock,” he said.
“I’m pretty shaken up – it was a gym in broad daylight in the middle of Maple Ridge.”
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At just after 6 p.m., he was leaving the gym, having given police a statement. No vehicles were allowed to leave the lot.
Police released a statement saying they received numerous calls regarding possible shots fired. They arrived on scene to find a male suffering from gun shot wounds, who died at the scene.
The investigation is in the very early stages however, the preliminary details reveal that this does not appear to be a random incident, said the release.
Ridge Meadows RCMP will be working with the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT), and say they are currently in the evidence gathering stage of the investigation.
Police are looking for any witnesses who saw or heard anything. Anyone with camera footage from the area in the afternoon, or if they have not already spoken with police, are asked to call the IHIT information line at 1-877-551-4448.
There was a heavy police presence at the gym, including officers wearing uniforms marked gang task force, and roads in the surrounding area have been blocked from traffic.
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