Williams Lake RCMP has suspects in custody who they believe are responsible for two gang-related shootings within the area this month.
“They are facing charges that are unrelated to these events but are police driven investigations that were prioritized as a result of the actions those people took,” says Inspector Milo MacDonald.
“So we focused on the public safety view of getting those particular people out of the community and we have successfully engaged in investigations of getting those people out of the community with police witnesses.”
MacDonald says they are anticipating that this will make a difference within the community over the next little while.
He says although RCMP to some extent have no control over the actions people take, they do have a lot of control over the type of investigations that they choose to undertake in the aftermath of events such as this month’s shootings.
Police have confirmed that both of the incidents are conflict-driven between members of the Indian Outlaws and 712.
“I’d be lying if I took all of the credit for it in relation to our police officers,” says MacDonald.
“Any public safety concern relies on the public’s assistance and we were greatly assisted by the public who were thinking on their feet, doing things like taking photos with their cell phones and taking videos with their cell phone which was an absolutely extraordinary source of evidence and something that we haven’t often seen in the prosecutions.”