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Police officer killed in B.C.

ABBOTSFORD, B.C.• A police officer in Abbotsford was fatally wounded in an exchange of gunfire with a suspect who had allegedly stolen a black Mustang convertible while taking it for a test drive.

“The officer who gave his life today is a hero,” said a shaken Abbotsford Police Chief Bob Rich at a news conference.

Rich said police received a phone call about a stolen vehicle in the parking lot of a strip mall on Mt. Lehman Road at about 11:30 a.m. on Monday.

He said the caller — an employee from the dealership where the car was stolen — blocked the vehicle from leaving, but the suspect emerged with a shotgun and began shooting.

Police officers were called and Rich said after an exchange of gunfire an officer was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

He was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital.

Rich met with the officer’s family and delivered the terrible news, “something I never wanted to do in my life.”

The name of the officer has not yet been released.

The suspect fled in the vehicle and police officers pursued him to the intersection of Mt. Lehman Road and Fraser Highway.

Rich said a man in his 60s from Alberta was apprehended and taken to hospital for treatment of non-lifethreatening injuries.

On Saturday, a 2016 black convertible Mustang was stolen off the dealership lot — a salesman was walking around the car when the test driver took off. “He was to go on a demo. When my salesman turned around he was already out the driveway,” said Bart Por, the sales manager at MSA Ford Abbotsford’s Fraser Valley AutoMall.

A few staff members were at the mall across the street at about noon on Monday when they spotted the stolen car and called police.

Then, the chaos ensued. “The cops went speeding by me on my way in. My lot manager’s truck windows were shot out,” he said. “I heard a lot of gunshots going on.”

Por said both the police and the driver of the stolen car were firing.

A witness who was at a Japanese restaurant in a strip mall at Cardinal Avenue and Mt. Lehman said he heard two gunshots and saw a police officer down in the parking lot.

“I looked outside and the officer was down and bleeding,” Derek Middleton told CBC News.

“So I just closed the door and locked it and said call 911.”

James Graham was driving when he saw police cruisers crash into a Mustang behind him. He looked in his rear-view mirror and stepped on the accelerator.

“Then there was gunfire — six or seven shots I’d say — it didn’t even look like anyone was out of the vehicle yet,” said Graham in an interview with CBC News.

“I was a little startled, but I just hit the gas and got out of there. I just hoped that no one was injured.”

Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun had been in council meetings all afternoon, however he received a call from the police chief at about 12:40 p.m. to advise him that an officer had been shot and taken to hospital.

“This is kind of my worst nightmare as a mayor,” said Braun.

He said his thoughts and prayers are with the officer and his family, as well as the other officers who were involved in the incident.

“I am, and everyone in Abbotsford is, in shock over this incident,” said Braun. “I don’t think anyone that feels that this level of violence is OK in our community or in any other. This is a tragedy.”

Rich commended the actions of all officers involved in Monday’s incident, saying they were all “absolutely heroic.”

“There were officers heroically trying to save the life of our member. There were officers immediately taking control of the scene,” he said.

The Independent Investigations Office of B.C., which conducts investigations into officer-related incidents that cause death or serious harm, has been deployed to the scene. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team has taken over the investigation.

Rob Gordon, a professor of criminology at Simon Fraser University, said it is rare to see an officer shot and killed on the job.

“I cannot remember the last time that a police officer was killed on duty — shot and killed in this kind of arrangement,” Gordon said.

“Police officers are killed from time to time in motor vehicle accidents. … they don’t usually die on the job as a result of criminal activity of that kind.”