Homicide detectives say a 20-year-old man was shot to death Monday evening in Coquitlam, B.C.
Sgt. Frank Jang of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says Bailey McKinney was targeted as he visited the busy Town Centre skate park at about 6:30 p.m.
IHIT is heading to #CoquitlamBC for a homicide that occurred earlier this evening near the skate park at 1299 Pinetree Way. One man is dead after being shot. Suspect is at large. Witnesses please contact @cqrcmp or the IHIT info line 1-877-551-4448 pic.twitter.com/Z10Ku6BS7p
— IHIT (@HomicideTeam) April 20, 2021
Investigators want to speak to the roughly 50 people who were in the park at the time of the homicide in an effort to determine what McKinney was doing there.
Jang says there is no indication the homicide is linked to a fatal shooting in Vancouver on Saturday or to Metro Vancouver's ongoing gang conflict.
Jang says police had previous interactions with McKinney related to drug offences, but that it's too early to tell if the killing is drug-related.
No arrests have been made and Jang is urging anyone with information to share details with the homicide team.
Information was still being checked, but McKinney might have had an ongoing disagreement that led to his death, Jang said.
"We believe he had conflict with certain individuals and we believe that these certain individuals may be responsible for his murder," Jang said Tuesday in Coquitlam.
"It leads us to believe this was targeted. It certainly wasn't random."
A team of officers was canvassing the Town Centre area looking for witnesses and dash cam or surveillance video that could help identify a suspect, Jang said.
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