Shots fired in Sooke domestic assault; home left in shambles
A high-powered hunting rifle was fired inside a Sooke townhouse where a domestic assault occurred on New Year’s Eve, police say.
RCMP officers found used cartridges and the rifle inside a Grant Road West residence. They later discovered that several neighbours heard what turned out to be four gunshots about 9 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.
Two homes were struck by rounds, but no one was injured by the gunfire. “One’s in the deck next door and the other one is in the roof of a house 57 metres behind the townhouse complex across a greenspace,” said Sooke RCMP Staff Sgt. Jeff McArthur.
Forensic officers determined that the shots were fired from within the home.
McArthur said some residents who heard the gunshots figured they were fireworks, but those who thought they were real did not call police.
“That is a concern,” he said. “There’s a possibility we could have minimized the extent of the assault and the damage inside if someone would have called it in, but we’re not sure about that.”
RCMP said the woman who was assaulted is recovering from unspecified injuries. Police do not believe she was shot at.
McArthur said the suspect was in a relationship with the woman, who was looking after the townhouse while the owners were away over the holidays.
Police were contacted New Year’s Day after the owners returned to find extensive damage in the home.
The interior was a shambles, with televisions and computers smashed, couches slashed open and drinks poured over floors and counters, police said. Use of liquor, heroin and methamphetamine by the suspect is believed to have been a factor in the violence that occurred.
Ezra Polstein, 26, was arrested by Sooke RCMP Thursday after Vancouver police picked him up on a different matter. Sooke officers travelled to Vancouver and took him to Sooke jail cells.
Polstein appeared in Western Communities provincial court on Friday and has been charged with assault causing bodily harm, pointing a firearm, careless use of a firearm, uttering threats and mischief over $5,000.
He has been remanded in custody until his next court appearance on Jan. 18.