One man is dead following a police involved shooting at Nanaimo’s Departure Bay ferry terminal today.
According to an RCMP release, the incident unfolded as the Island District Emergency Response Team was assisting Nanaimo RCMP with the arrest of a man aboard the ferry.
The man was wanted for arrest in relation to a “violent” carjacking incident in another part of B.C.
“The vehicle was stopped by police and a takedown was initiated as the male disembarked from the ferry,” read the release.
According to RCMP, initial information based on police accounts is that the male exited the vehicle, with what was believed to be a firearm.
Shots were fired as a result, and the suspect was fatally wounded.
No members of the public nor police officers at the scene were injured.
The former Mayor of Saanich Frank Leonard tweeted multiple times about the event:
Police shooting at departure bay ferry terminal as vehicles disembark - ambulance now here - vehicles still on ferry
— Frank Leonard (@frank_leonard) May 8, 2018
Vehicles unloading at Departures bay terminal via the arrival area as police and ambulance have exit area blocked after what appears to have been a police shooting pic.twitter.com/2jkSu7fnSa
— Frank Leonard (@frank_leonard) May 8, 2018
Pic may give you a sense of how far away from vehicles and passengers waiting to board ferry at Departure Bay the police incident was; if planned, police had a narrow stretch of road away from all with a limited number of ‘others’ nearby pic.twitter.com/QlyGJm6WJU
— Frank Leonard (@frank_leonard) May 8, 2018
IIO BC will now assume conduct of the investigation into the police-involved shooting to see if there is any link between police actions and the man’s injuries.
Anyone who witnessed this incident is asked to contact the IIO BC at 1-855-446-8477.
BC Ferries is continuing to operate out of Departure Bay at this time, however, sailings have been delayed.
#BCFHeadsup At this time sailings are still operating between #DepartureBay & #HorseshoeBay. Expect delays due to earlier incident. ^kn
— BC Ferries (@BCFerries) May 8, 2018
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