Woman shot in car while parked near Vancouver's Oppenheimer Park
Credit to Author: Scott Brown| Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2019 20:24:06 +0000
A 53-year-old woman is hospital following a shooting at Oppenheimer Park in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside on Saturday.
Vancouver police say the woman showed up at a hospital around 3:30 p.m and reported being shot while stopped in a vehicle on Dunlevy Avenue, just west of the park.
The woman said she was visiting a man who lives in the homeless encampment in the Oppenheimer Park.
VPD spokesman Sgt. Steve Addison said the woman had surgery Saturday and her injuries are not life-threatening.
“There have been no arrests and we’re still working to determine exactly what happened, including whether this was random or targeted,” Addison said.
Vancouver Police have raised concerns in recent months about deteriorating public safety in the park and throughout the DTES as a result of the large encampment in the park
“VPD is concerned by a significant increase in weapons, violence, and calls for service to Oppenheimer and the surrounding area, as gangs compete for territory around the park,” the VPD said in a statement on Sunday.
Last month, Deputy Chief Const. Howard Chow said emergency calls to Oppenheimer Park had increased by 87 per cent from June to August this year, compared to 2018.
Police are asking any witnesses to Saturday’s shooting to contact the VPD’s major crime section at 604-717-2541, or to make an anonymous report to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
MORE TO COME