BREAKING NEWS 9:40 pm March 3rd: RCMP investigate reports of shots fired in Newton – again.

The second period  of the Canucks game had just started  at about 8pm, as the sound of shots rang loud and clear as if outside my door. I froze in disbelief and shivered as I listened in shock.

4 shots in quick succession, followed by perhaps another 4, slower and more deliberate .

Making sure someone was in charge of the kids, I grabbed my camera and ran down the street at full speed ….. to the sound of sirens approaching.

By the time I made it to 68th avenue, officers were arriving on the scene and I joined up with one of them as we walked towards the home where the most recent shootout occurred.

At the time of this posting, ( 9:42 pm) police are investigating with dogs, and it seems pertinant to note that the shots were fired in the area of the same home where a shootout occurred Friday night around midnight.

RCMP have confirmed that a single male appeared shortly thereafter at a local hospital with ” non life-threatening injuries”, but at this time no names or other statements have been released.

I spoke with some of the people on the scene, and it is clear that the neighbourhood has undergone a radical change in recent years. A trio of ladies I spoke with nodded in agreement when talking about the problems we are facing with drugs and prostitution, and now, gang violence. It was mentioned that there are several gangsters who are known to live in the immediate area, which lead to talk about how we can protect ourselves if we are not even safe to walk our dogs at night without fear of being in the cross fire.

An Indian man I spoke with, Ranjit, whose home is only doors away from the home where the recent shootout occurred, suggested that ” we all get together and pull the gangster out of his house and tape him to a power pole so they can be done with him. Then we can all live without fear for a while.”

He is afraid to let his kids play in the living room that faces the street where the shootings have occurred and is angry. Angry that these people live among us. Angry that nothing is easing the violence.

Key words there ?  ” live without fear for a while.”

I  have to mention how impressed I am with the speed that the RCMP flooded the area with their presence. It was handled quickly, quietly and with the professionalism that one expects from such a revered institution. Kudos go out on response time tonight.

*** update 4:30 am – CKNW is reporting the male who was shot in this incident is in intensive care, and  that there was another drive by shooting last night at 155 and 100th ave in Surrey around midnight, where shots were fired into a home known to police.