Charges laid after doctor shot in face in downtown Vancouver

The Vancouver Police Department says charges have been laid in connection with a shooting downtown that left a doctor with serious facial injuries earlier this month.

It happened in the area of Homer and West Pender streets on April 3.

“The victim has been released from hospital and is now recovering. The injuries are non-life-threatening but very traumatic, as you can imagine,” Insp. Michael Rowe said Tuesday.

“The victim is incredibly fortunate and while they are unfortunate to have been shot, they’re incredibly lucky to have survived with the injuries they have.”

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Sources said Friday that the doctor was not the intended target but was shot in the face around 7:50 p.m. CityNews has heard that there was an exchange of “words” between the gunman and the doctor before shots rang out.

However, Rowe refutes that claim.

“I’m unable to share at this time information about the events that led up to the shooting, only to say that the victim was an innocent bystander. The victim had no involvement in anything to do with the suspect or the events that led up to the shooting,” Rowe explained.

“The victim was not in a verbal dispute with the suspect. The victim was an innocent bystander who was doing nothing to involve himself in the shooting.”

Police say they are still trying to determine who the intended target was.

According to the VPD, the suspect fled before officers arrived, and was arrested and taken into custody on April 12.

The Vancouver Police Department said at the time of the shooting that the incident was not related to the ongoing B.C. gang conflict. However, investigators did say they believed it to be targeted.

In an update Tuesday, the VPD said 32-year-old Justin Delaney Littlewolf had been charged with aggravated assault and discharging a firearm.

Littlewolf remains in custody awaiting his next appearance in court. Charges have yet to be proven in court.

–With files from Sonia Aslam