Canadian cops responding to a call about a man causing a disturbance at a public meeting inside a restaurant Thursday ended up killing another man standing outside the restaurant, allowing the first man to slip away.
Meanwhile, a third man video recorded the aftermath of the shooting, showing a group of cops standing around the slain man with their guns drawn, handcuffing his body as sirens can be heard in the distance.
The man killed was wearing a Guy Fawkes mask, an indicator that he was a member of the hactivist group Anonymous, whom have now vowed to seek revenge for the killing, according to Twitter reports.
And the man who uploaded the video, Corey Pfeifer, stated on Facebook that the victim was shot and killed because he “showed a knife.”
And another witness told the local media that the man was killed when he did not drop the knife.
But all the Royal Canadian Mounted Police can say is that he was shot and killed after “a confrontation,” having learned nothing from their American counterparts who would have claimed he “lunged” at them with the knife.
The RCMP initially believed he was the same man causing a disturbance inside the Fixx Urban Grill restaurant, but admitted 24 hours later that the man they killed had nothing to do with the man flipping tables and ripping posters off the wall inside the restaurant during a meeting about a planned controversial dam that is being met with protests because of its impact on the environment.
If anything, they were both protesting against the Site C dam that will be built this summer by BC Hydro, a Canadian utility company.
The incident took place in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, the westernmost province of Canada, just north of the Washington border.
According to the Winnipeg Free Press:
Kellie Kilpatrick, spokeswoman for the police watchdog, the Independent Investigations Office, issued a clarification Friday night, saying that two men, not one as was initially reported, were involved in the incident that happened as a public hearing for the contentious Site C dam was taking place.
She said the IIO reported on Thursday evening that an individual who caused a disturbance at the hearing came into contact with police outside the venue and was shot.
But Kilpatrick said the man who allegedly caused the disturbance had actually left the area before police got there.
“Police arrive at the location and they come into contact with a second individual who is unrelated to the original complaint,” she said. “He is aggressive. He does not follow police commands and he is shot. He is transported to hospital but he does not survive.”
The restaurant is attached to the Stonebridge Hotel, which has surveillance cameras outside, so there is a strong chance more video of the incident will emerge.
We placed a call to the hotel Friday night to inquire about possible footage, but the night desk clerk was reluctant to speak about the incident, referring us to her manager who works during the days.
Grant Stern contributed to this report.
