WATCH: Witness captures Dawson Creek RCMP shooting on cellphone. Warning: Contains disturbing content.
UPDATE: The IIO now says the man who made a disturbance at a Site C open house in Dawson Creek was not the person fatally shot by RCMP outside the building later that evening. The victim has been identified as James Daniel McIntyre, aged 48, a resident of Dawson Creek.
The Independent Investigations Office is heading to Dawson Creek following a police-involved fatal shooting outside a Site C open house Thursday evening.
Kellie Kilpatrick with the IIO confirmed that investigators will be heading to the city this morning and have been advised the shooting is fatal.
It happened at the Fixx Urban Grill at the Stonebridge Hotel, while BC Hydro was giving a presentation about their construction planning for the Site C dam.
“According to the police, officers were responding to a report of a male causing a disturbance at a public information session being held by BC Hydro in the 500 block of Highway 2 in Dawson Creek. The male had reportedly been damaging property and disrupting the event,” wrote the IIO in a statement.
“Upon arrival, police encountered a masked individual outside, believed to be connected to the complaint. A confrontation occurred and the male affected person was shot. He was transported to hospital however he did not survive his injuries.”
The IIO says it will not be releasing any further details about the victim or any officers involved.
Global News reporter John Daly is in Dawson Creek and spoke to councillor Terry McFayden on Friday:
It was the last of five open houses BC Hydro was holding this month to provide information for people in the region, the crown corporation said in a statement announcing the event.
“The open houses will include information on BC Hydro’s proposed construction information and notification program and will seek input on how to best communicate construction-related information to residents of the Peace region,” they wrote.
The $8.8-billion Site C dam in the Peace River region, approved by the provincial government late last year, is expected to begin construction this summer, despite multiple legal challenges.
Dawson Creek RCMP will continue to be at the scene of the incident until the IIO arrive.
This is the fifth police-involved shooting the IIO has investigated in 2015.