IIO investigating after Surrey teen shot dead by police
Posted February 10, 2025 12:34 pm.
Last Updated February 11, 2025 9:31 am.
A community is in mourning after a Surrey teenager was shot dead by police Sunday afternoon.
The teen’s death comes after the Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO), the province’s police watchdog, explained that it was called in to investigate after a person was shot and killed by RCMP officers in the Clayton Heights neighbourhood on Sunday.
The Surrey Provincial Operations Support Unit — the remaining RCMP unit in Surrey — says officers responded to a call about a person in distress in a schoolyard, reportedly with a gun, near 188th Street and 70th Avenue.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO 1130 NEWSRADIO VANCOUVER LIVE!After what the Mounties call “an extensive interaction,” they say shots were fired and the person died.
“The person sustained a gunshot-related injury and was pronounced deceased at the scene,” said a release from the IIO on Sunday. “Initial investigative steps will seek to determine if police actions were necessary, reasonable, and proportionate in the circumstances.”
“We are not confirming the age of the person who was killed in Surrey yesterday at this time.” the IIO added Monday morning.
Multiple people CityNews spoke to explained the victim was 15 years old, while Surrey Schools confirmed that a student from Clayton Heights Secondary School passed away over the weekend.
CCTV footage from a house in the area, provided to CityNews Vancouver, shows a person walking around with something in their hand.
Multiple police officers are stationed behind a police cruiser with their guns drawn. Two shots ring out before police run toward the person.
At the scene of the shooting on Monday, flowers and a stuffed teddy bear were laid outside of a townhouse.
A card included with the flowers states: “We love you kiddo. No words!!!”
A neighbour in the area showed CityNews the aftermath of the shooting on Monday, as one of the bullets police fired went through his garage and bounced off the roof.
John Petersen says he initially thought he heard fireworks before realizing it was gunshots. “I’m a wreck now. I’m a wreck. I have young kids, I have grandkids, great-grandkids. It could happen to anybody, right?”
Petersen, who spoke to the teen’s parents, says the next thing he knew, paramedics were on scene.
“That’s why they should have darts – sleeping darts. Go to sleep, wake up in jail, and discuss what’s going on,” Petersen said.
In a statement to CityNews, Surrey Schools says that counsellors will be on-site at the school to “support staff, students, and the community. Any further inquiries should be directed to the Surrey Police Service.”
Surrey Schools directed any further inquiries to the Surrey Police Service.
CityNews has reached out to the IIO, the Surrey Police Service, the Surrey Teachers’ Association, and Milieu Children & Family Services for more information.
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With files from David Nadalini and Monika Gul.
