Suspect charged in Surrey SkyTrain, police station shooting

Surrey police are investigating the motive behind a shooting spree around the busy Gateway SkyTrain Station and a community police office Monday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the suspect, 34-year-old Jose Digno Rodriguez Centeno, has been charged with five offences, including assault of a police officer and reckless discharge of a firearm.

He remains in custody.

“We are looking into the man’s history, certainly, and looking into his mental health history, and contacts with police,” said Surrey Police Service (SPS) Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton, adding that the man is known to police but has no recent files.

“It’s certainly an unnerving and unsettling day when an individual, regardless of their motivation, comes into a police station and starts firing a weapon.”

Just after 3 p.m. Monday, a person with a gun was reported firing shots near the SkyTrain station at University Boulevard and 108 Avenue before ending up inside the SPS District 1 Community Police Office on King George Boulevard at 107A Avenue a short time later.

“That man left the inside of the community police office, and more shots were reportedly fired by the man as he exited. SPS officers were able to quickly contain the man to the doorway area,” Houghton said.

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With the help of the Integrated Emergency Response Team and a police canine team, a suspect was taken into custody and later seen on a stretcher, apparently injured by a police dog during the takedown.

The police office was then shut down for a short period while police investigated a package left by the man. It was eventually deemed safe by an RCMP explosives disposal unit.

Houghton says it was fortunate that no members of the public or police officers were hurt.

“We know that there were several shots fired at the Gateway SkyTrain Station, and what we are trying to determine is if or how many shots were fired between that location and our community police office, and then determine how many shots were fired at or inside our community police office.”

Investigators are going through physical and digital evidence from the area, and Houghton says they hope to get more information from potential witnesses.

“We’re not sure if the individual was firing at people or at police officers, or if he was firing indiscriminately in the air. Those are all questions we want to answer,” he said.

“The individual is in custody, and we are looking at potential charges. Those could range from firearms-related charges at the minimum, all the way to various assault charges or attempted homicide.”