Suspect arrested after police, paramedics shot with pellet gun

A Downtown Eastside man is in custody after Vancouver Police and paramedics were shot with a pellet gun fired from the window of a Hastings Street rooming house Sunday night.

B.C. Ambulance Service paramedics were working in the lane behind the Carnegie Centre, near Main and Hastings, around 11 p.m. when someone began firing from above, striking the first responders and their ambulance. The paramedics took shelter and notified Vancouver Police, who were also struck with pellets as they arrived on scene.

One VPD officer suffered minor injuries after being shot several times.

VPD’s Emergency Response Team searched inside the Maple Hotel, at 177 East Hastings Street, and arrested a 45-year-old suspect who is believed to have been the shooter.

The man, who was already on bail for an unrelated assault and was also wanted BC-wide for theft, was taken back to jail. He faces new charges for assaulting police and paramedics, for possession of a weapon, and for breaching bail conditions.