Publishing date: Jul 30, 2022  •  10 minutes ago  •  2 minute read  •  Join the conversation One man has been shot in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside in what authorities confirm as a police-involved shooting on Saturday, July 30, 2022. Photo: Trey Helten [PNG Merlin Archive] Photo by Trey Helten /jpg

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One man has been shot in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside in what authorities confirm to be a police-involved shooting.

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Const. Tania Visintin, a spokesperson for the Vancouver police, could not confirm details from an eyewitness that told Postmedia a man hit a VPD car with a rod-like object before an officer fired his gun. Visintin said all she can say is that they are dealing with “an unfolding situation” on Hastings Street. “As soon as I get all the information, I will send something out,” she said, in an email early Saturday. Jerret Veinot, who lives in the Downtown Eastside, told Postmedia that upon hearing a banging sound arise at Columbia and Hastings street Saturday morning, they ran to see what was the commotion. “I saw a man strike a police vehicle then drop what looked like a stick,” the 32-year-old described. “Two officers got out of the vehicle. One from the passenger side raised his gun and shot him two times in the chest.”

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Another witness, Corwin Lumley, described the incident as scary. “The police officer was aiming at his upper body,” he told Postmedia. Security video of the incident – sent anonymously to Postmedia – shows a police cruiser trailing a man who is walking down Hastings Street before it stops and two officers emerge; one from either side of the vehicle. The man is then seen running down the street past the officer on the passenger side of the car before returning to face their direction and falling to the ground. Photos and videos captured, shared on social media, show the man lying on the ground of the intersection and multiple police officers surrounding him. Trey Helten, a local harm reduction worker who approached the scene after shots were fired, yelled at police gathered at the intersection: “Why’d you shoot him?” He recorded his question to officers on his cell phone. An officer in plain clothes shouted back, saying it was because the man had stabbed someone. There is no word yet on the condition of the man, although in response on Twitter, the Vancouver Police Department said “the suspect” is not dead and is being treated for “non-life-threatening injuries.”

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Hastings between Main & Carrall, and Columbia between Pender & Cordova, are closed. Drivers are advised to avoid the area. #VPD is dealing with an unfolding police incident. There is no public safety risk. We will release more information when it is available. #VanTraffic pic.twitter.com/u7OsSg79ZX — Vancouver Police (@VancouverPD) July 30, 2022
The Independent Investigations Office has been called in, confirming with Postmedia that it has “deployed investigators to a police-involved shooting in Vancouver.” Police say there is no public safety risk. More to come… —with files from Tiffany Crawford [email protected]