A car chase, gunshots and SkyTrain station closures disrupted traffic and caused fear on the streets in Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam, New Westminster and Surrey on Tuesday afternoon. At about 3:40 p.m., four armed suspects robbed a car dealership near Lougheed Highway and Dominion Avenue in Port Coquitlam and fled in a stolen vehicle, Coquitlam RCMP said.
Suspects and police exchanged gunshots during the pursuit.
Part of the police chase was captured on video at the intersection of Lougheed Highway and Pitt River Road. It showed a black Mercedes sedan travelling at high speeds under pursuit.
The stolen vehicle crashed on Highway 1 in Coquitlam near the King Edward overpass and all four suspects fled.
Witness Randy Kang said he stepped out of his work at Lougheed Acura at 4 p.m. and saw several police vehicles.
He then spotted police officers chasing the suspects. One suspect fell to the ground and was surrounded by police, while the others continued to flee.
Kang said he heard what sounded like three gunshots aimed at the remaining suspects, but they appeared to escape.
“It was terrifying,” Kang said. “I was very concerned for the public.”
Other witnesses in vehicles that were caught in the area saw heavily armed police running through traffic looking for suspects.
RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Alexa Hodgins said that one suspect was arrested on Highway 1, while another carjacked a vehicle on the highway and fled to Surrey where they were arrested.
Two suspects remain at large.
During the incident the Scott Road (Surrey) and Braid (New Westminster) SkyTrain stations were closed, with a heavy police presence in those areas.
Hodgins said no police officers were injured. The two suspects that were arrested were also unharmed.
“We would like to thank our policing partners in Burnaby, Surrey, New Westminster, Vancouver, Maple Ridge and the Lower Mainland Emergency Response Team (ERT) for their assistance,” Hodgins said.
“We appreciate and thank the public for their assistance in adhering to police directions. This was a very dynamic investigation with several crime scenes which required additional assistance from numerous jurisdictions.”
