An early morning shooting in East Vancouver left a man in his 30s with a bullet wound in his back, but he is expected to survive.
The victim, who has not been identified, underwent surgery Monday, Const. Jana McGuinness told CTV British Columbia.
Vancouver police say shots were fired close to a busy intersection in the early morning hours. According to witnesses, the shooting occurred at a restaurant, but it's unknown if the incident took place inside the establishment.
"When our members arrived they found a man down on the sidewalk suffering from a gunshot," McGuinness said earlier Monday near the crime scene, where police tape surrounded a small restaurant in a grungy block of businesses.
Reports suggested that a silver Range Rover was seen driving away from the scene, but McGuinness could only say that a vehicle drove away from the area after the attack.
Prior to Monday's incident, there had been 31 shootings throughout Metro Vancouver since late January. Twelve of them were fatal.
The increase in violence led Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu to admit last week that the city is in the midst of gang war.
Chu's statement came as city police announced the arrest of two alleged gang leaders as part of a crackdown on a drug turf war, which has turned southeastern Vancouver into a violent battleground.
"As police, we've always been told by media experts to never say or admit that there is a gang war," said Chu.
"Well, let's get serious. There is a gang war and it's brutal."
With files from The Canadian Press
