B.C. police watchdog concludes Surrey RCMP not responsible for teen's death

RCMP are not responsible for the death of a 17-year-old teen who turned a gun on himself in Surrey last week, B.C.'s police watchdog has found.

The incident happened on Oct. 8, when police were called to an alleged attempted robbery in the 15900-block of the Fraser Highway just after 2 a.m.

According to the report from the Independent Investigations Office (IIO), video from the scene shows a young man firing shots at a police vehicle arriving on scene and hitting it twice.

Immediately afterwards, the teen turned the gun on himself, the IIO said.

Police backed the vehicle away from the young man and the officer remained in the SUV until another officer arrived two minutes later, the report said.

Police then administered first aid, and the teen was taken to hospital, where three days later, on Oct. 11, he died.

The IIO report said the young man's death was a tragic incident but was not the result of police action or inaction.

"It is clear based on the video evidence that at no point does the officer withdraw or discharge their firearms," the report concluded.

The IIO's investigation has ended, but the B.C. Coroners Service and Surrey RCMP continue to investigate.