Gunshots from a high-powered assault rifle rang out in a residential complex this morning, just a few hundred metres from an elementary school.
At 8 a.m., the Viking Ridge residential complex, which neighbours Mamquam Elementary School, rang out with several shots reportedly fired from within one of the complex's units, according to RCMP.
No bystanders were injured, but police say a suspect was arrested and brought to hospital for treatment of unspecified injuries.
A Viking Ridge resident of six years, Steven Hill said he heard the shots while tending to his five-month-old son Declan, and getting ready to awaken his six-year-old daughter Rhiannon for school.
"I heard what sounded like more than one shot in a row and the sound of either glass or wood, like siding, falling," he said.
"Being ex-military I thought it was gunshot, but waited for the sounds afterwards of people yelling, the aftermath. And when I didn't hear any aftermath it struck me that I might have been incorrect in assuming it was a gunshot."
Bullets penetrated a neighbouring unit, smashing through its windows, stated police.
As they approached the complex, RCMP members spotted the "distraught" 38-year-old male suspect, who is known to police. The suspect was intercepted while running through the complex's parking lot with a large combat knife and two fully-loaded magazines of ammunition for a high-powered assault rifle. He reportedly left with police without further incident. A crossbow and more ammunition were seized from his residence.
The police report states that no one in the immediate area was targeted. A request for details was not immediately returned.
Hill was disturbed by how close he and his children were to the violence.
"We face onto the back I don't know what unit it was but it sounded quite close. We're a foot away from that back window."
Hill said the incident is shocking, especially in the light of the neighbourhood's "family-oriented" history.
"You'd think this would be a safe neighbourhood. It's right by a school, lots of families," he said. "Hopefully this is the exception and not becoming the rule. There are a lot more violent crimes."
The involvement of an assault rifle makes the incident even more disturbing, he said.
"The idea that people in our complex feel the need to have assault weapons, that they have it loaded in their house with safety off and firing... I feel of course that our strata will get rid of this dangerous element quite quickly."
Mamquam Elementary students arrived home this afternoon with a letter signed by principal Ian Kent advising parents of the incident, and stating that police RCMP Sgt. Bracewell has assured him the school and students "were never in any danger."
Further investigation is ongoing at this time with the assistance of the Sea to Sky Regional Police Services, general investigation section.
