A man was shot to death in a home in Surrey after RCMP say he took a woman hostage SURREY (NEWS 1130) – Two people are dead following a hostage situation and a police-involved shooting in Surrey. RCMP say police responded to a call around 9:30 p.m. on Thursday about a possible hostage situation inside a home on 98A Avenue near 132nd Street. Neighbouring homes were evacuated and the Lower Mainland Emergency Response Team was called to the scene. RCMP say they made “multiple efforts” overnight and Thursday morning “to engage the barricaded male and a female hostage within the home in order to peacefully resolve the situation.” Officers entered the home around 7:30 a.m. on Friday. After a confrontation, RCMP say the man was shot to death. The woman was taken to hospital with serious injuries but later died. (Chad Harris, CityNews Vancouver) “There were no other persons injured, no members of the police and no members of the public other than the two persons who are now deceased,” said Ron MacDonald with the Independent Investigations Office (IIO). •Woman was found in the home with serious injuries. She died in the hospital •No police officers or members of the public were hurt •@iiobc has taken over the case to investigate any link between police actions and man's death 2/2 — NEWS 1130 (@NEWS1130) March 29, 2019 “We’re still trying to confirm the relationship between the victims,” he added. “My understanding is that they were known to each other.” The IIO has taken over the investigation. “We will focus today on identifying witnesses, identifying any evidence that if we don’t get right away might go missing,” MacDonald said. “And we will be really focusing on an examination of the scene doing our forensic examination of that.” (Chad Harris, CityNews Vancouver) One man who lives in a home around the corner from where it happened says it’s a shocking situation in his neighbourhood. “It seems pretty quiet … It’s peaceful every time I walk over. Everyone was nice,” he said. Police are asking people to stay away from the area.<doc-sep>Send this page to someone via email Two people have died after a hostage taking and standoff with police in Surrey city centre on Friday. B.C.’s civilian police watchdog the Independent Investigations Office (IIO) says the victims were a man and a woman who knew each other, but that it has not yet determined how they died. “We’re still trying to determine what caused his injuries. They also found a female who also suffered from injuries. Both of those people were taken to hospital and both unfortunately have now been pronounced deceased,” said IIO chief civilian director Ron MacDonald. WATCH: Video shows ERT takedown at the scene of Surrey hostage 0:39 Video shows ERT take down at scene of Surrey hostage taking Video shows ERT take down at scene of Surrey hostage taking – Mar 29, 2019 “We’re not sure if the female was killed by shots. We’re still trying to determine what caused her injuries and what led to her death. We do know that police took shots, but we don’t know if they’re the ones that caused injuries to the male.” Story continues below advertisement WATCH: Ron MacDonald from the IIO answers questions about the hostage situation in North Surrey. 8:45 IIO announce two people killed in North Surrey hostage situation IIO announce two people killed in North Surrey hostage situation – Mar 29, 2019 Surrey RCMP says the male victim sustained a fatal gunshot wound and died at the scene. Police, including the Lower Mainland Emergency Response Team (ERT), were called to the home at the end of a cul-de-sac near 132Ard Street and 100A Avenue around 9:30 p.m. on Thursday night, according to the RCMP. Up to two dozen police vehicles, including an armoured vehicle, responded to the scene. Police attempted unsuccessfully to negotiate with the man inside throughout the night. Story continues below advertisement Around 7:30 a.m. the ERT breached the home and “a confrontation with the barricaded male ensued” according to police, which ended with an exchange of gunfire. #BREAKING: We can hear yelling and what sounds like an exchange of gunfire coming from a residential home in #Surrey, that is currently surrounded by @SurreyRCMP officers. We have been told it is not safe for our @GlobalBC crew to be where we’re currently stationed. pic.twitter.com/mGQZUy5z6i — Sarah MacDonald (@smacdonald__) March 29, 2019 Video from the Global 1 helicopter showed four ambulances arrive at the scene as members of the ERT and paramedics performed CPR on one person they had carried out of the home. Two men identifying themselves as the sons of a woman inside the home told Global News they believed her boyfriend was keeping her hostage, and that they had not been able to reach her since Thursday night. WATCH: Sarah MacDonald reports live from the scene of the hostage situation in Surrey Friday morning 1:42 Two people dead after Surrey hostage taking Two people dead after Surrey hostage taking – Mar 29, 2019 Neighbour Kim Davies said the incident had everyone on edge. Story continues below advertisement “It’s scary. I’m lucky my kids are older, my youngest are 19-year-old twins,” she said. READ MORE: Police standoff in Surrey ends peacefully “But we have got a lot of kids around here; we’ve got a school here, we have got playgrounds.” Coun. Jack Hundial said between this incident and the deaths of three people in a car crash on Tuesday, it’s been a “gut-wrenching” week for Surrey. “When there’s a tragedy such as this, it impacts people,” Hundial said. “It gives a black eye all around for our society. “Certainly it’s easy to point the finger and say, ‘If it happens in Surrey it’s not a big deal,’ but let’s not forget our communities are very interconnected,” he added. RCMP say road closures in the area will be in effect for a significant amount of time. —With files from Janet Brown<doc-sep>
British Columbia’s police watchdog is investigating the deaths of a man and a woman following an overnight hostage situation and a police-involved shooting in Metro Vancouver. The RCMP said officers responded to a home in Surrey around 9:30 p.m. on Thursday after a report of a man with a gun and a possible hostage. Officers evacuated nearby homes and properties, set up a containment area and activated the Lower Mainland Emergency Response Team, a specialized group of officers and technicians that responds to hostage situations. Story continues below advertisement “Multiple efforts were made throughout the night and into the morning to engage the barricaded male and a female hostage within the home in order to peacefully resolve the situation,” the Mounties said in a media release. “At approximately 7:30 a.m. members of the emergency response team entered the home and a confrontation with the barricaded male ensued.” The man sustained a fatal gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at the scene, and a female victim was also located within the home with serious injuries, and despite medical efforts was pronounced dead at hospital, the RCMP said. Police said no officers nor any other members of the public were injured. The Independent Investigations Office of British Columbia, which probes police-involved shootings, was deployed to the scene to take conduct of the investigation. Chief civillian officer Ron MacDonald said police fired gunshots at the scene, but he could not confirm the cause of the man’s injuries. The office will consider the possibility that police shot the man, he said. Story continues below advertisement “It could also be a situation where those injuries were caused by the man himself. We just don’t know that at this point in time,” he said. The office also does not yet know the details of the woman’s injuries or what caused them, he added. Mr. MacDonald said it was his understanding that the female hostage was the woman who died and there was no one else inside the home. The oversight agency will attempt to determine what caused the deaths, whether they’re linked to police actions and whether the actions of police were justified, Mr. MacDonald said. It will also explore the background of the relationship of the two dead individuals, he added. “In any of these cases, we often want to try to determine what the background was, what brought these people to this situation,” Mr. MacDonald said. “It can sometimes explain their actions that they may have taken with respect to their interactions with police. In that sense, it’s quite relevant.”