Witness says she heard '20 seconds' of gunfire during hostage situation

Tense hostage situation ends in deadly violence ERT officers descended on a Surrey home, and at the end, a man and woman were dead. But so far, few details are known.

The hostage situation that triggered a 10-hour standoff in Surrey's Central City neighbourhood erupted into a barrage of gunfire Friday morning, according to a witness who lives nearby.

Sheri Lewis told reporters she was at home listening to the incident unfold when the gunshots rang out at around 7:30 a.m.

"There was a giant bang and then just gunfire for ... 20 seconds maybe," Lewis said. "It was a lot of gunfire."

A dark, blurry video recorded on Lewis's cellphone captured a number of popping sounds in rapid succession.

"It's like something that you see on TV, you don't expect it happened to happen right here. It's just surreal," Lewis told reporters Friday morning.

Authorities later confirmed a man and woman were both killed, though few details have been confirmed about the circumstances.

Officers were called to a home on 100A Avenue at around 9:30 p.m. Thursday with a report of an armed suspect holding a woman hostage, which prompted a massive police presence in the neighbourhood and forced the evacuation of some nearby properties.

Lewis's mother, Cheryl, said she overheard officers trying over and over to make contact with people inside the home overnight.

She said police called out: "Homeowner, if you're OK, come out of the house. Call 911."

Members of the Emergency Response Team eventually entered the property with a warrant. There was a confrontation inside followed by a police-involved shooting, according to B.C.'s police watchdog, which has been called to investigate whether officers' actions contributed to the deadly outcome.

The RCMP confirmed a man suffered a "fatal gunshot wound," but did not give any indication of who opened fire or how many shots were let off.

The woman was found severely wounded, and died later in hospital. The nature of her injuries hasn't been confirmed either.

After the situation was over, Cheryl Lewis said officer approached her home to check on their safety.

"Police came to my door and asked me if any bullets hit my house," she said. "We said no."

With files from CTV Vancouver's Sheila Scott and Ben Miljure