Shots rang out again in North Preston early yesterday morning – this time sending a 19-year-old to hospital with non life-threatening injuries.
RCMP spokesman Cpl. Joe Taplin said the young man was seated inside a white Chevrolet Lumina on Cain St. when he was reportedly struck several times.
“He, or somebody else, drove (the car) down to the end of Cain St., where he got medical assistance and was taken to the hospital,” Taplin said. “We were informed around 12:45 a.m. by hospital staff that they had a gunshot victim.”
Police found the car parked at the end of Cain St. and seized it as evidence.
Taplin said the victim initially spoke with RCMP officers, but then stopped cooperating entirely. He has since been released from hospital, Taplin added, and is not facing any charges.
The incident is the fourth shooting in two months and comes just two weeks after about 150 North Preston residents and their supporters came out to protest a surge in gun violence in the tight-knit community. In two separate incidents in October a 24-year-old man was admitted to hospital with non-fatal gunshot wounds, and a family narrowly escaped injury after bullet fragments ricocheted into their home.
“We’re looking at (Sunday’s) shooting to see if there is any connection with previous shootings in the area,” Taplin said. “There were numerous bullet casings that have been seized by the RCMP forensic team.”
While officers continued their investigation, a clean-up crew was working just a few blocks away at Nelson Whynder Elementary School to repair damage caused during an overnight break-in. Taplin said someone forced their way into the school Sunday evening and emptied several fire extinguishers. The school remained closed for the day yesterday.
Police do not believe there is any connection between the break-in and the shooting, said Taplin, and have not identified any suspects in either incident.
