The Abbotsford Police Department would like to talk to the occupants of two vehicles that were captured on surveillance video on Sunday night not far from a drive-by shooting on Ridgeview Drive.
Const. Paul Walker said it’s not yet known if the occupants of an SUV and a pickup truck had any involvement in the incident, but detectives with the major crime unit would like to speak with them or to anyone who saw the vehicles that night.
Police released two separate videos on Tuesday afternoon, both captured at the intersection of Blueridge Drive and Townline Road – one of the locations where police previously installed cameras as a deterrent to crime related to the Townline Hill conflict.
One clip shows a truck – possibly a GMC – travelling north on Townline Road through the intersection. A white car can be seen on the video not far behind the truck, but Walker said police do not need to speak to that driver.
The other video shows an SUV – likely an older-model Honda Pilot – also travelling north on Townline but turning right (east) on Blueridge.
The shooting on Ridgeview Drive in west Abbotsford was reported at 12:13 a.m. Sunday in the 31500 block.
Residents reported hearing multiple gunshots and when police arrived, they discovered that a home on the street had been struck by bullets.
Walker said nobody was in the home at the time.
The incident took place less than three hours after occupants in two cars shot at each other in the area of Salton Road and Fern Street – located in central Abbotsford just south of Marshall Road between McCallum and McKenzie.
Police who were in the area of Marshall and McCallum roads for another matter heard the shots at about 9:40 p.m. and began heading to the general area.
Meanwhile, several 911 calls came in from residents reporting the exact location.
Officers who arrived on the scene found shell casings on the road, but no evidence of vehicles or homes in the area being struck.
Local hospitals were contacted to determine whether anyone had arrive requiring medical assistance, but Walker said no victims were located nor were police able to obtain vehicle descriptions.
Walker said investigators have not yet determined whether the two shootings are linked, or whether either, or both, are connected to the Townline Hill conflict.
The conflict involves two groups of young men battling for drug turf in west Abbotsford, and has resulted in several drive-by shootings and two murders – that of 18-year-old Harwin Baringh in October 2014 and 74-year-old Ping Shun Ao, who was struck by a stray bullet intended for his neighbour on Sept. 2, 2015.
Ao lived on Promontory Court near Ridgeview Drive.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Abbotsford Police Department at 604-859-5225, text abbypd (222973) or call Crime Stoppers at 1-880-222-8477.