Bystander videos appear to capture terrifying moments during a suspected targeted shooting in Vancouver’s downtown core on Saturday that one witness says has left him fearing for his safety in the area where he lives.
One video shared with CBC News appears to begin seconds after a black Jaguar SUV and white Audi SUV collided on Robson Street near Richards Street around 5:40 p.m. PT.
In the video, taken several storeys above the busy shopping street, at least six loud bangs can be heard in under six seconds as two people wearing dark clothing appear to advance toward the black SUV with arms raised in front of them.
As the apparent shots end, a third individual is seen fleeing from the driver’s side of the white vehicle while what sound like screams echo in the distance.
After the last bang, the two individuals run into an alley in front of the entrance to a Hilton hotel.
In a second video, Vancouver police officers have arrived on scene and appear to apprehend a tall man wearing a black hoodie and dark pants who was moving toward the black SUV.
Local resident Sahil Chawla says he was about to walk onto Robson Street from nearby Homer Street when he heard a single gunshot and saw two vehicles had collided.
“I wanted to go take a peek but then people just started to run and that’s when I knew something was really wrong,” he told CBC News on Sunday.
“And then my heart started to pound, because I only heard one shot at first, and then it was back to back — two, three, more — and that’s when the shock set in.”
Another witness told CBC News they heard gunshots shortly before the Jaguar and Audi collided on Robson Street.
On Saturday evening, three bullet holes could be seen on the passenger side rear door of the black vehicle. Another bullet hole could be seen in the window of a nearby Tim Hortons.
Vancouver Police Department spokesperson Sgt. Steve Addison said Saturday that the shooting appeared to be targeted and no deaths or injuries had been reported.
On Sunday, Addison declined to answer questions about the identity of the individual targeted and would not say whether the incident was related to gang conflict in B.C., citing the active investigation.
Chawla says he and his neighbours are rattled because they usually think of their neighbourhood as quite safe.
“I’m still kind of processing it … It’s kind of sinking in that anything can happen here,” he said. “Everyone is in shock — like, can you believe this happens in broad daylight in Vancouver?”
Chawla, who recently returned from a three-month trip overseas, says he now feels “not as safe as I felt the day before.”
“Coming back to this was just like a bit of a shock,” he said.