A Vancouver man has pleaded guilty to attempted murder in a shooting in the city’s Downtown Eastside last year.
It happened on Sept. 22, 2019, and was one of three shootings in the area in a 15-hour period.
A Global News crew was near Pender and Abbott streets, reporting on the two prior shootings, when they heard gunfire and witnessed a man fleeing the area with a handgun.
The Vancouver police Emergency Response Team subsequently arrived and searched the Grand Union Hotel near West Hastings and Abbott streets.
Joseph Bassett, 30, pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted murder along with one count of unlawful possession of a loaded prohibited or restricted firearm, one count of breach of a firearms prohibition order, one count of assault with a weapon, and one count of aggravated assault, Vancouver police said Friday.
Police believe the shooting was related to the drug trade.