The BC Coroners Service says preliminary figures show deaths among the province's homeless population climbed dramatically last year, compared with 2021. A statement from the coroners office says 247 deaths were recorded among people experiencing homelessness last year, a 75 per cent leap over 2020. Coroner Lisa Lapointe says the findings highlight the risks that the homeless face every day, including physical and mental health concerns, disabilities and substance use issues. The report shows an average of 153 deaths were reported annually among the homeless between 2016 and 2020 and deaths f

The British Columbia recall petition launched against Harwinder Sandhu, the member of the legislature for Vernon-Monashee, was a failure. Elections BC says in a statement the recall petition was not submitted by the Oct. 11 deadline under the Recall and Initiative Act. Genevieve Ring was issued the petition and 28 voters registered as canvassers to collect signatures. Elections BC says that despite the failure, the recall proponent must return the petition sheets to Elections BC, although signature counts won't be released or verified. Both Ring and the Sandhu must file financial disclosure r

Coquitlam RCMP is requesting the public’s assistance with identifying the suspect of an assault on a taxi driver that occurred August 22, 2022. Coquitlam Front-line officers attended the area of Sunnyside Road and East Road in Anmore after a male suspect assaulted a taxi driver with a beer bottle. The male suspect hit the glass partition inside the taxi causing the glass to shattered. The taxi driver suffered minor injuries to his hand. The suspect can be described as: -Caucasian male-5’7 - 5’10 tall-Medium build-30 - 35 years old-Beard The male suspect was seen wearing: -White t-shirt-B

Two Vancouver teens were hospitalized last night following a violent encounter on the city’s west side, which Vancouver Police believe started when one youth accused the other of stealing a vape pen. One teen suffered multiple stab wounds and required surgery. Several witnesses reported seeing two people fighting near a bus stop at Dunbar and West 41st Avenue around 8:30 p.m. When VPD officers responded, they located a 17-year-old suffering from a number of life-threatening wounds. The victim was bleeding profusely, and a VPD officer applied pressure to the wounds to stem the bleeding. The

Vancouver Police are investigating after shots were fired and bear spray was deployed in the Downtown Eastside this morning. "Officers were at the scene within minutes but were not able to find a victim," says Constable Jason Doucette. "This is a heavily populated area and we are concerned someone may have been hit. We encourage anyone who may have been injured to seek medical help, and to report the incident to police."Just before 11:00 this morning, the VPD received 9-1-1 calls reporting a man standing at East Hastings and Columbia Street had just fired a gun, then ran out of the area. The w

Surrey RCMP is seeking information on a shooting that occurred on Sunday and requesting anyone with dash camera footage from the area to contact police. On October 9, 2022, at approximately 6:13 p.m., Surrey RCMP received a report that a man with a gunshot wound had attended a hospital in another jurisdiction. The man was allegedly shot while in his vehicle waiting at a red light in the area of Scott Road and 110 Avenue in Surrey. The man sustained an injury to his hand, allegedly drove himself to an area hospital, and has since been released. Surrey RCMP’s General Investigation Unit has c

Surrey RCMP is updating the public that one man has been arrested in relation to a September incident in the Strawberry Hill business complex. Police are requesting the public’s assistance to help identify two additional suspects. On September 11, 2022, a Surrey RCMP officer was surrounded by a group of males in the parking lot of the Strawberry Hill business complex, after he served a violation ticket to one of the individuals. (Initial media release 2022-09-12). Earlier this week on October 4, 2022, a 22 year-old man was arrested for intimidation of the justice system participant and obstr

Provincial officials say shipments of Pfizer's new COVID-19 vaccine targeting the Omicron variant are expected in British Columbia soon, after Health Canada approved the shot. A joint statement from B.C.'s provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, and Health Minister Adrian Dix, says the Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent vaccine will be available to people aged 12 and older from next week. They say B.C. is set to receive 1.7 million doses of the newly approved shot, which will be available in health authority clinics and pharmacies across the province. Approved last month, Moderna's equivalent biva

Vancouver Police have launched an investigation after the Komagata Maru memorial was vandalized for the second time in 14 months. "Detectives from a number of VPD specialized units are working together to collect evidence and identify the suspect(s) in this troubling incident," says Constable Jason Doucette. "This investigation will take time, but we’ll leave no stone unturned in our attempts to solve this senseless crime."VPD initiated an investigation on October 4, after learning from a social media post that the glass on the front of the Komagata Maru memorial had been shattered. The memo