A man suspected of setting an apartment building on fire is dead after he drove his vehicle into the blaze, RCMP say, but not before he shot one person and displaced roughly two dozen others.
The string of events happened Friday afternoon in the city of Fort St. John, in northeast B.C.
Police say they were called to a shooting in front of an apartment complex on 103 Avenue at about 1:20 p.m. PT on April 18, where they found the building on fire.
“The initial investigation suggests that the suspect in the vehicle had set the fire and then drove his vehicle into the blaze, where he was then located deceased,” said Sgt. Kris Clark of the B.C. RCMP.
Clark also said that the man had fired shots at a black pickup with two people inside, and that the occupants fled to the hospital, which was briefly placed on a lockdown out of concern for public safety.
City of Fort St. John spokesperson Ryan Harvey says the 14-unit building has been deemed a “total loss,” displacing between 20 and 30 residents who have been accessing emergency support services.
Gunshot victim released from hospital
The two people in the truck have been identified as Corey Macdonald and his fiancée, Remi Boutilier, through public social media posts from Macdonald and an online fundraiser posted on the couple’s behalf by family friend Josh Gaudet.
CBC News has been in touch with Macdonald via Facebook, who said Gaudet was acting as a spokesperson for the couple while they recover.
According to Gaudet, the couple had been out running errands and were returning home when they saw the suspect outside their apartment shooting a gun.
When the gunman turned to the couple, Gaudet says, Macdonald “took action” and drove toward him in an attempt to incapacitate him, but not before Boutilier was shot in the face.
Gaudet says the pair were medivacced to Vancouver, where Boutillier received treatment and was discharged earlier today.
“It’s shocking,” he said. “It doesn’t feel real that it would happen here, you know?”
Police say the serious crimes unit is looking for witnesses and dashcam footage leading up to the event. They say the incident was isolated and they don’t believe there is any further risk to the public.
