Man dead after 2nd shooting in Burnaby neighbourhood in 9 days
Police believe man in his 40s was meeting somebody in area before he was shot
One man is dead after a shooting in a residential neighbourhood of Burnaby, B.C., late Thursday, marking the second deadly attack in the area in nine days.
Witnesses called police to the 6200-block of McKee Street just after 10 p.m. PT after hearing gunshots and cries for help, according to RCMP. Officers found a man in his 40s with gunshot wounds.
First responders took the man to hospital, but he later died. Police later confirmed the victim was 44-year-old Neal Pratap.
It's believed Pratap was meeting somebody in the area before he was killed.
"Something went wrong, shots were fired and our victim was left with gunshot wounds," said Sgt. Frank Jang with the RCMP's Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.
Jang said the shooting is not believed to be random. He said the man had had "interactions" with police, but investigators have not found anything linking him to gangs in the Lower Mainland.
"There's nothing that jumps out at us as being gang related ... it's too early to tell, but we're working on it," said Jang.
Jang said it is not clear whether the attacker left the scene of the shooting on foot or in a vehicle. Police have not found a burnt-out vehicle — a hallmark of gang-related shootings — since the man died.
Anybody with information is asked to call police.
Feb. 3 shooting
The shooting happened blocks away from the park where Chris Kenworthy, 32, was found dead from gunshot wounds on Feb. 3. The shootings have not been linked.
"Two shootings in nine days, definitely, it's concerning. It's concerning to us as well. These days we have enough to be anxious about and certainly to have a murder happen in our neighbourhood does nothing to alleviate that," said Jang.
He encouraged anxious residents to reach out to victim services if they need help.
Twelve hours before Kenworthy's death, there was also a fatal shooting in neighbouring Surrey.
No arrests have been made in any of the more than half-dozen fatal, targeted or gang-related shootings across Metro Vancouver since late last year, including one in December that killed a 14-year-old Burnaby boy in Surrey, B.C.
With files from The Canadian Press