A man found outside the restaurant with gunshot wounds was pronounced dead.Gene J. Puskar/The Associated Press
Police say a deadly shooting around dinnertime in a McDonald’s restaurant in Langley, B.C., was “brazen” and a threat to public safety.
The RCMP were called Tuesday evening to multiple reports of a shooting at the restaurant in the Aldergrove suburb.
Officers found a man in his 30s with gunshot wounds outside the restaurant where he was pronounced dead.
About 30 minutes later, police in the neighbouring city of Abbotsford say they received a report of a black SUV on fire that investigators believe is connected to the shooting death.
A statement from the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the victim, who was known to police, was targeted and the shooting has ties to gang activity.
Sgt. Frank Jang said the shooting at a busy restaurant at 8 p.m. was reckless.
“It just speaks to brazenness of these people, the recklessness. I’m sure these people, they don’t give a damn about our safety, yours or mine, and that’s concerning to us. So we’re doing our absolute best to find these people and bring them in,” he said on Wednesday.
In a statement, Jang said: “This was a brazen shooting in a public space and we are fortunate that no one else was hurt,”
RCMP Supt. Murray Power says police would expect “absolute outrage” from the community.
“No grievance between two individuals justifies this level of risk to the community,” he said in a news release. “We will provide any and all necessary support to (the homicide team) in their investigation and continue in our collective effort with our many partners to target the ongoing gang conflict.”
Our Morning Update and Evening Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.