Investigators gather evidence near car in which two men were found shot to death off Foothills Boulevard early Wednesday. Photo 250News

Prince George, B.C. – Prince George RCMP have multiple resources involved in the investigation of what they believe is a targeted shooting off Foothills Boulevard   which left two men dead and a third wounded early this morning.

Corporal Craig Douglass says that “at approximately 2:40 this morning Prince George RCMP received a report of shots fired in the area of Foothills Boulevard and North Nechako Road.  We responded and located a vehicle and three adult males in that vehicle.  Two of them were pronounced deceased at the scene and one of them was taken to hospital with what we believe to be gunshot wounds and is expected to survive.”

Cpl. Douglass could not say who reported the shootings to police, whether a passing motorist or a resident of the area.  “At this point,” says Douglass, “I think we’re just going to keep that close to the investigation.  Essentially we got a report likely a very short time after the incident occurred.”

The car in which the three men were found is located off Foothills at the entrance to the gravel pit on the west side of the road.  It remains there, with the bodies of the two deceased men inside, pending the arrival of the coroner.

Cpl Douglass says “this stretch of road (Foothills), which extends from North Nechako Road all the way to the Otway overpass, will be closed for likely several hours.  It’s a large piece of road but we possibly have a lot of evidence to gather so we have to take those precautions.”

Cpl. Douglass could not say whether any weapons have been recovered, whether the men in the car might have had weapons in their possession or whether the shootings are believed drug-related.  “We’re open to all possibilities at this point but certainly drug-related incidents are common and something that we will look at.”   He also did not have names, ages or home towns of the victims and could not say whether they are known to police.

Douglass says “those sorts of details of the investigation are, this just happened and we are trying to ascertain everything that happened and gather as much evidence as possible.”  Asked what leads police to believe this was a targeted shooting he says “the nature of the call, essentially.  Officers believe that it is targeted and that the general public aren’t at risk in this situation.”

Cpl Douglass says the Prince George RCMP Serious Crimes Unit is leading the investigation of the homicides.  They are being assisted by North District Major Crime as well as the Forensic Identification Section, the Police Canine Section “and any other specialized units that we may need.”

He says “we’re at the beginning stages, we’re only hours into this and this could be a months if not years-long investigation.  Asked why police believe this is a shooting incident Cpl Douglass says “that’s what our belief is.  Certainly if evidence comes to light that that wasn’t the case then we’ll bring that up but we’re quite confident that this was a shooting.”

He could not say whether the man recovering from the gunshot wound in hospital is co-operating with police and speaking to them about what occurred.

Asked whether the shootings on Foothills may have had any connection to speculation about apparent police interest in a van that was spotted on Highway 97 north near Houghtaling Road early this morning Cpl. Douglass says “we are looking at other incidents that have occurred around the same time, and so we’ll look into those and determine whether or not they’re involved.  Right now we have no evidence to support that any other incidents are involved.”