Turns out a bullet hole found in an apartment on Salter Street last month wasn’t the first time police have responded to a shooting in the ‘Boro neighbourhood.
Less than two years ago, New Westminster police officers were called to the 200 block of Salter Street when shots were fired into two apartments. The shooting, which happened on Oct. 29, 2012, was attended by officers, of the department’s major crime unit, who determined that while the shooting was a targeted incident, the occupants of the two suites hit were not believed to be the intended targets.
More recently, on Feb. 27 officers were again called to the 200 block of Salter Street after a resident returned home to find a bullet hole in her patio window. Much like the incident in 2012, investigators were unable to determine a motive and could only report the current resident was likely not the intended target.
But who the intended targets were and what motivated the shootings remains a mystery to police.
“Basically, we are unable to determine what the motive was, but our investigation indicates there is nothing the current occupants have done to make themselves targets of such an incident – not gang members or prolific criminals, no enemies, etc. – so we do not believe they were the intended targets,” Staff Sgt. Paul Hyland wrote in an email to The Record. “At this stage we can’t say what the motive was, the possibility exists that this incident was random, or it could have been an unintentional discharge of a firearm from outside, or it could have been a targeted incident against the wrong residence, but our investigation to this point has not determined the cause so we would just be speculating.”
According to Hyland, the shootings happened at two different buildings in the 200 block of Salter Street and investigators do not believe the incidents are connected.
“Both files remain under investigation,” Hyland added.
Anyone with information on the recent shooting is asked to contact Const. Leigh Hodak at 604-525-5411 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
