Woman’s son pulled the trigger in shooting at Oppenheimer Park: police
Posted November 22, 2019 2:48 pm.
Last Updated November 22, 2019 2:56 pm.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The Vancouver Police Department says the victim’s son was the one who pulled the trigger in a shooting inside a car near Oppenheimer Park.
The 53-year-old woman told police at the time she was visiting someone at the homeless camp in the park in late October and was stopped in a vehicle just west of the camp when the shooting occurred.
Now, police say it was an accident. The woman, from Powell River, B.C., was chatting with her son when a gun he was carrying discharged, lodging a bullet in her arm.
RELATED: Woman in hospital following shooting near Oppenheimer Park
The woman, who had non-life-threatening injuries, took herself to the hospital where she underwent surgery.
The VPD has warned of a significant increase in weapons, violence and calls for service at the campsite as gangs compete for territory in the park. They say this incident is another example of the dangers of carrying firearms.
Hundreds of people have been living in the park. Some were evicted this summer, but many still remain. Critics have argued while safety in the area is a concern, the occupants have nowhere else to go.
With files from the Canadian Press and Tarnjit Parmar
