On the same day the worst mass shooting in Canadian history claimed the lives of 22 victims in Nova Scotia—including an RCMP officer—Sea to Sky police responded to multiple reports of two men dressed in camouflage on Blackcomb Mountain carrying what initially appeared to be rifles.
As it turned out, the men, a 52-year-old Coquitlam resident and a 42-year-old Delta resident, were firing bear bangers with a launcher “that looked like a modified rifle” and produced sounds the public mistook for gunshots, police said in a release.
At approximately 3:10 p.m. on Sunday, April 19, RCMP members from Whistler, Squamish and Pemberton RCMP attended the area around the 4800 block of Painted Cliff “just hours after a horrific mass shooting in Canada,” police said. The men were “cautioned as to their action and advised that setting off bear bangers for fun in the resort area had caused a lot of concern for police and residents in the area.”
Nova Scotian authorities have yet to identify a motive for the 12-hour rampage that started late Saturday in the town of Portapique, but said there was clear premeditation: the shooter wore a fake police uniform and made up his car to look like a police cruiser. As of Tuesday, police were examining 16 different crime scenes across the province.
Whistler police recover stolen vehicle but still looking for suspects
Whistler RCMP is on the lookout for a man and woman after recovering a stolen vehicle that had been abandoned in a ditch while the suspects were fleeing police, according to a release.
At approximately 2:30 a.m. on Friday, April 17, police noticed a purple 2000 Honda Civic enter the area of the village bus loop. A male passenger then exited the vehicle and approached the police car, telling the officer they were lost and low on gas. At the same time, a check revealed that the car was reported stolen out of Abbotsford. Police said the man immediately ran back to the vehicle and, with a female driver, fled the area.
Officers located the car a short time later, abandoned and half-submerged in a ditch near the intersection of Easy Street and Corral Place. They haven’t had the same luck tracking down the suspects.
The male passenger is described as 35 years old, Caucasian, of medium build, weighing approximately 91 kilograms (200 pounds), 1.88 metres tall (6-2), with a bald and/or shaved head with black facial hair or stubble. He was wearing all black clothes at the time. The female driver is described as Caucasian, with a slim build and shoulder-length hair worn in a ponytail and ball cap at the time.
Whistler RCMP is asking any residents in the area of Easy Street and Corral Place to review any home security footage they might have from April 17 between the hours of 2:30 and 5 a.m. and to contact police if they notice any suspicious activity. Anyone with further information on this incident or who remembers seeing the vehicle or its occupants is asked to call the detachment at 604-932-3044, or Sea to Sky Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 to remain anonymous.
