Investigators seeking video of fatal shooting
Police watchdog reviewing events
The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) continues to seek witnesses into the fatal shooting of a 38-year-old man in East Vancouver last week.
Daniel Peter Rintoul, a man living in Vancouver who was originally from Alberta, was shot by Vancouver police following a botched robbery at a Canadian Tire store on Thursday.
The shooting happened at 3 p.m. and the IIO, after a review of the in-store video footage, believes there are more witnesses and people who took cellphone videos events unfolded.
B.C.’s civilian police oversight agency on Tuesday asked for anyone who has footage of the incident to contact their office.
Police were called to the store at Grandview Highway and Rupert Street last Thursday after reports that a knife-wielding suspect had taken a hostage. Police were told a burly man dressed in camouflage clothing had broken into a display case and stolen a rifle.
After a scuffle with a store employee, the knife-wielding man grabbed an 82-year-old man as a hostage and made his way toward the exit. A police officer was stabbed in the neck and abdomen, and in the chaos that ensued, numerous shots were fired by police. The officer is expected to make a full recovery.
The B.C. Coroner’s Service identified the victim as Rintoul, a 380-pound man who had been living in Vancouver for the past few years.
Family in Calgary also confirmed Rintoul was arrested and deported from China in 2002 for his involvement in a Falun Gong protest in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Following his arrest, Rintoul was sent back to Canada and arrived in Calgary beaten and bruised from the ordeal.
Falun Gong is a spiritual practice involving slow-moving exercise and meditation.
On Tuesday, Falun Gong spokesman Joel Chipkar said they want to clarify that Rintoul was only involved in the movement for a short period of time.
“It’s a public-relations nightmare,” said Chipkar of the association with Rintoul and the violence.
“We have been known around the world as a peaceful group,” he said. “We have been in Canada since 1990 and never have had any issues with the police.”
Chipkar said Rintoul told them that he suffered from bipolar disorder.
“The way he got along with people — it was difficult,” he said of the mood disorder. “He told us he was bipolar.”
Reached at her Calgary home, Rintoul’s mother, M.J. Rintoul, said she plans on addressing the media about her son’s slaying.
“We’re issuing a statement Wednesday,” was all she said.
Those involved in the weapons business said any store selling guns has them locked up in a cabinet as required under federal law.
Blair Hagen, the vice-president of the National Firearms Association, said it’s rare to have a gun stolen from a store.
“It’s not that common for retail firearms businesses to be hit in a robbery,” he said. “It’s probably a lot easier for someone to get an illegal gun off the street.”
“It’s probably a lot easier for someone to get an illegal gun off the street.”
— Blair Hagen, vice-president of the National Firearms Association