B.C.’s civilian police watchdog was called to Hope Wednesday where RCMP officers fatally shot a man in hospital.
The emergency department has now reopened Thursday after being temporarily closed due to the incident.
The chain of events leading up to the shooting began shortly before noon on the Coquihalla Highway, where emergency crews attended a two-vehicle crash near the Zopkios offramp.
Multiple people were hurt and taken to Hope’s Fraser Canyon Hospital for treatment.
According to an RCMP media release, two of the people involved in the crash then got into an altercation serious enough that attending paramedics asked for police help.
Officers arrived at the hospital where “an interaction occurred” between them and one man “resulting in one officer discharging their firearm.”
Police said the man got immediate medical help but died at the scene.
The Independent Investigations Office has been called to probe police actions.
Fraser Health said the hospital’s emergency department was temporarily closed while the IIO investigated the incident.
It said all patients and staff were unharmed.
Anyone requiring emergency care in the area can call 911 or travel to the emergency department at the Chilliwack General Hospital, the health authority said.