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Investigation into police shooting of Squamish Chief Gibby Jacob's son continues

Funeral held Wednesday for Ryan Jacob, 45,
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The new Independent Investigations Office is looking into the shooting death of Ryan Jacob, 45, the son of Squamish Nation hereditary Chief Gilbert "Gibby" Jacob.

According to reports, Burnaby RCMP responded to a call regarding a man with a knife in the early morning hours on Jan.31. When they arrived at the scene, police officers confronted a man who matched the description of the suspect.

What happened next is unclear, but some reports suggest that there was some engagement between Jacob and police that resulted in two or three shots being fired. Jacob was transported to hospital with gunshot wounds, and later succumbed to his injuries.

The Jacob family issued a statement on Feb. 1: "We are deeply saddened by the tragic and sudden loss of our son Ryan Jacob. This news has sent a shockwave through our family and our community.

"He was not only our son, he was a loving father, brother, uncle, nephew and cousin, a sportsmen and an artist.

"We are still trying to process this information and we ask that our family is afforded the time and privacy necessary to respectfully mourn our loss."

Gibby Jacob is well known in Sea to Sky, and helped broker the deal that established the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre in Whistler, as well as the Olympic land swap deal that resulted in the First Nations gaining several tracts land in the Whistler community — including the Baxter Creek area above the Rainbow subdivision that is being developed for housing.

Ryan Jacob's funeral service was on Wednesday, Feb. 6 at the Chief Joe Mathias Centre in North Vancouver.

He is survived by his father, mother Vivian Jacob, children Isaac and Lewis, grandmother Stella, sister Tara and other extended family.