A 15-year-old boy from Coquitlam who was an innocent bystander, struck by a bullet during a shooting Saturday night, has died, according to the BC Coroners Service.
The teenager was inside a car driving by when shots rang out at Broadway and Ontario Streets just after 9 p.m.
Vancouver police Chief Const. Adam Palmer addressed media earlier on Monday to say the teen was not expected to survive his injuries.
WATCH: Chief Const. Adam Palmer on Vancouver shooting
“This is the type of call I absolutely dread and I am incredibly saddened and heartbroken,” said Palmer.
“It is rare in Vancouver for an innocent victim to be caught up in this type of violence, but every time criminals decide to exchange gunfire on our streets they endanger the lives of everybody around them.”
“The events of Saturday night were reckless, are reprehensible, and there’s no justification for this type of senseless violence in our city.”
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Palmer added the teenager was out enjoying a normal Saturday night with his parents.
The teen was a member of Coquitlam Christ Church of China. He attended Sunday school, and his parents came to Vancouver for a better life.
Family friend Melody Li said the family was having dinner and were on their way back to Coquitlam when a stray bullet went through the car and hit the teen.
“They came to Canada for a better life and ended up losing their son,” she said.
“My message to the family is this: we will not ever fully be able to comprehend your grief but the Vancouver Police Department will do whatever it takes to seek justice for your son,” Palmer said.
It appears the target was 23-year-old Kevin Whiteside of Vancouver, who is known to police.
Palmer said he was seriously injured in the shooting and died overnight.
Another person, a man in his 30s, inside a car was grazed with a bullet and treated at the scene.
No other suspects have been identified.
“There was a guy running down the street just shooting a gun, running down the sidewalk, aiming and shooting at something, I didn’t see what,” a witness told Global News on Saturday.
“Forty-five seconds later I looked, and there’s that same guy – appeared to be the same guy – down on the ground.”
WATCH: A teenager is among the victims caught in the crossfire during a targeted shooting Saturday night in Vancouver. Grace Ke reports from the scene with more.
“This is rare that these kinds of things happen and that when it does, we put all of our resources available to us to investigate this type of crime,” said Sgt. Jason Robillard.
“This is a priority for us and we’re all concerned as a police department.”
Police say at least 50 officers are investigating this shooting and believe there are still people who may have witnessed this shooting and have yet to call the police. If you have any information regarding this incident, or any video from Saturday night, call investigators at 604-717-2500.
This homicide is Vancouver’s first homicide of 2018.
-With files from Jon Azpiri and Jon Hall
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