Some parents concerned about safety after targeted shooting near Surrey schools, daycare
Posted September 4, 2019 10:43 am.
Last Updated September 4, 2019 9:14 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
SURREY (NEWS 1130) – Some parents in Surrey are taking precautions the day after a targeted shooting near two schools and a daycare left two men seriously hurt.
Parents at Erma Stephenson Elementary in the Fraser Heights area are worried crime is going up. The shooting happened just before 5 p.m. on Tuesday so students were out of class, but the fact that it happened so close to schools in broad daylight is concerning for some in the neighbourhood.
One parent told NEWS 1130 on Wednesday morning that she won’t be letting her children walk to school this year.
“Because that could have been them, walking along there. And even if they didn’t get shot, they’re all traumatized this all happened right by their school,” Nicole Gill said.
The shooting happened in front of a home at 160 St. and 111 Ave., two doors down from a daycare and a block away from an elementary school and a secondary school.
While class was over for most kids, the daycare was still operating. One parent said he stumbled on the scene when he came to collect his son.
“I had to go home, grab my phone, figure out what was going on and then get a police escort to come pick him up,” Ryan told NEWS 1130.
Two men were taken to hospital with serious but non-life threatening gunshot wounds.
The Surrey RCMP says Thomas Gabriel Saul is believed to be the target of the shooting. The 35-year-old from New Westminster has also been targeted in other targeted attacks, and police are warning members of the public not to interact with him if they see him.
They’re asking anyone with information on the Fraser Heights incident or a related shooting on Aug. 21 in Burnaby, to contact police.
