Police on Vancouver Island and the Independent Investigations Office (IIO) are investigating the death of a child in Victoria on Thursday.
Victoria police said officers were called to Victoria General Hospital shortly before 9 p.m. concerning the “sudden death” of a child.
According to police, paramedics had responded to a call in the area of Vancouver and Johnson streets about two hours earlier, and taken a child and their parent to hospital. The child did not survive.
The parent and child had been the subject of a wellness check by Victoria police officers Wednesday evening in the 900 block of Johnson Street, VicPD said.
The Independent Investigations Office, which probes all police-related incidents that result in serious injury or death, has been notified, police said.
The civilian police watchdog confirmed it was involved, and that it had “commenced an investigation to determine what role, if any, police actions or inactions played in the death.”
The Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit is now leading the investigation into the death, while the BC Coroners Service is conducting its own investigation.
Anyone with relevant information is asked to contact Victoria police at 250-995-7654 and the IIO witness line at 1-855-446-8477.