RCMP in Merritt says they have identified suspects after a series of shootings early yesterday morning, but no arrests have been made, just yet.
“At this point, we’re just trying to piece everything together so that we have the best evidence moving forward,” Sgt. Josh Roda told NL News, noting the investigation is moving quickly.
Roda says there is no risk to the public, noting that all of the shootings which happened in Merritt, on the Coldwater Indian Band, and in the Mamette Lake road area between 5 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. Tuesday appear to be targeted.
“We had three scenes held which explained for the large police presence in those areas,” he said. “We’ve released all the scenes now and gathered all the evidence from them. We do have an increased presence in town for the next little bit just to make sure we don’t have any issues moving forward.”
Merritt Mayor Mike Goetz told NL News on Tuesday that no one in his community was injured after “approximately 100 rounds” were fired.
“I can tell you that there were a lot of shots fired,” Roda told NL News. “I won’t give an exact number as I would have to check with the investigative team but at this point, we can just say a lot of rounds were fired.”
Police say more information is expected to be forthcoming, though Roda couldn’t say when that might be.