A police officer in Abbotsford, B.C., killed Monday in a daylight shootout with a suspected car thief in a shopping mall parking lot has been identified as John Davidson, a constable with 24 years of experience in policing.
He is the first member of the department to die in the line of duty.
Chief Bob Rich of the Abbotsford Police Department (APD) said officers were called about a possible stolen vehicle in the parking lot of a shopping complex in the city, east of Vancouver.
The caller had blocked the suspect's vehicle in while waiting for police to arrive, Chief Rich said.
"Unfortunately, a male suspect emerged from that vehicle and began shooting at the caller and others with a shotgun," Chief Rich said.
"APD officers arrived in the area and attempted to engage with and arrest the suspect. There was an exchange of gunfire. Const. Davidson was shot and injured during this contact with the suspect."
The suspect then fled in the stolen vehicle. Video posted to social media shows at least two police vehicles intercepting a black suspect vehicle at a busy intersection. The officers then emerge from their vehicles and an exchange of gunfire can be heard. Chief Rich noted the video showed the "dynamic takedown."
Const. Davidson was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after.
Marci Dauncey said she was driving home for lunch from her job at a freight brokerage company when she found herself in the midst of the confrontation.
"Hell broke loose" as police cars converged on a vehicle travelling behind her, she said. "It was just crazy. Cop cars were flying everywhere."
Ms. Dauncey said she watched in her rear-view mirror as officers left their vehicles and opened fire on the vehicle.
She could not go forward or backward, she said in an interview, so she took cover in the driver's seat of her vehicle. "By this time, there's a lot of gunshots going all around," she said. "I lay down in my car and freaked out for the next while," she said, fearing she was going to get hit.
She said she had no sense of how long the shooting lasted nor how many shots, exactly, were fired, "I am just screaming in the phone to my husband saying there are just shots going off everywhere," she said. Eventually, an officer came over to ask her if she was okay to drive, she said.
She said she was shaken at how a routine day had taken such a turn. "[The day] goes completely sideways and you're in a nightmare all of a sudden," she said. "I'm shaking still. I'm replaying it in my mind. I've watched the news. I've watched the [police chief's] briefing."
"You never wake up thinking, 'Oh today. I am going to be in the middle of a shootout.'"
The suspect, described by police as a man from Alberta in his 60s, was taken to hospital with what are believed to be non-life-threatening injuries.
An employee at a nearby vehicle dealership said he believed the fatal shooting was linked to the suspected theft of a vehicle on the weekend.
George MacDonald, a manager at MSA Ford in Abbotsford, said a man came in to test-drive a Mustang around 9 a.m. on Saturday and allegedly drove off without leaving his driver's licence.
Shortly before noon on Monday, a dealership employee noticed the vehicle parked about 400 metres away at a restaurant, Mr. MacDonald said.
"One of my guys blocked the car in until the Abbotsford police came and before the police came the guy came back with a rifle and decided he wanted the car back," Mr. McDonald said.
There were initial reports that two officers had been injured in the shootout. Constable Ian MacDonald clarified that while a second officer was taken to hospital by ambulance, he was not physically injured.
The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. will investigate the circumstances surrounding the injury to the suspect, while the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team will look into the officer's death.
The deceased officer's name has not yet been released.
Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun said he was grappling with the shock around the death of a police officer on duty. In 2006, an Abbotsford police officer died after years of medical complications related to a fight during a domestic call, but Mr. Braun said the unidentified officer Monday was effectively the first officer on the force killed in the line of duty.
"It's very shocking. I am very saddened that this has happened. There are family and friends grieving as we speak," Mr. Braun said.
B.C. Premier John Horgan offered his condolences to the officer's family, friends and colleagues.
"As British Columbians, we are filled with grief at this tragic loss and give gratitude to all those who put their lives on the line for us every day," he said in a statement.
Chief Rich said he met with the officer's spouse to deliver the horrible news in person. "The officer who gave his life today is a hero," he said. "He was protecting this community. He will always be my hero."
With files from The Canadian Press
Andrea Woo
Ian Bailey