Neighbours of a Jacklin Road home where a man was shot and injured early Friday say they have long been concerned about drug-dealing and illegal activity surrounding the suite.
One man was taken to hospital after what West Shore RCMP are calling a targeted shooting at the Langford home.
A witness called 911 after reporting a disturbance about 12:30 a.m. Police found a man who said he had been shot inside a suite at the four-unit house near the corner of Jacklin Road and Dunford Avenue.
The man, in his 30s, was in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. West Shore RCMP spokeswoman Const. Nancy Saggar said he is expected to make a full recovery.
No one else was hurt.
A man fled in a vehicle. A suspect was later arrested by Sooke RCMP. Officers had set up a road check in the 5500 block of Sooke Road at 1 a.m. in response to the shooting, said Sooke RCMP Staff Sgt. Jeff McArthur. At 2:10 a.m., Mounties stopped a westbound Ford SUV driven by a 53-year-old Victoria woman.
Police noted that a man was slumped in the back seat not wearing a seatbelt.
Officers determined the 22-year-old Victoria man was the subject of a firearms prohibition. As he stepped out of the vehicle, police could see ammunition protruding from his pants pocket.
When an officer tried to arrest the man, he fled east on Sooke Road, leading police on a foot chase until Blythwood Road.
The man was combative and police used a Taser to take him into custody, McArthur said. The driver was also arrested on outstanding warrants.
The man was released on a promise to appear in court on June 27 for breach of probation. West Shore RCMP are still investigating to determine his connection to the shooting, McArthur said.
Saggar could not release details on the suspect’s relationship to the victim.
Tannis Gudmundson, who lives on Bray Avenue off Jacklin Road, said she heard yelling coming from a home nearby just after midnight. She heard a loud bang but at the time, she didn’t think it was a gunshot. She looked out the window and saw a man in black pants and a black hoodie with the hood pulled up walking on her street. She said he looked agitated. He walked back toward the home on Jacklin Road, then returned once more to Bray Street.
Gudmundson heard police sirens and saw flashing lights and suddenly the man started running, turning onto Knotty Pine Road.
She learned later from a neighbour that there was a shooting, which was unsettling for her and her husband, Ray Gudmundson.
Ray Gudmundson has lived in the home for 48 years, purchasing it from his parents.
He has long been concerned by what he suspects is drug activity going on at the neighbouring home.
“There’s traffic coming and going at all times of day,” he said. “To me, it seems like there’s some sort of drug dealing going on.”
The duplex at 2884 Jacklin Rd. was surrounded by police tape Friday as forensic investigators in protective white suits collected evidence.
Neighbours said the house is a duplex is divided into four suites. Police concentrated on the bottom right suite, the outside of which was littered with debris such as spare tires, boxes and an old mattress.
A maroon older-model Land Rover was in the driveway.
A man who lives in the suite above where the shooting happened said he was at work when it happened, but his wife was home. “I know my wife was freaked out,” said the man.
The man, who did not give his name, said the downstairs tenants “argue and party,” but he did not know them. He was under the impression that new tenants had recently moved in. Another neighbour saw a moving van at the home in the last few days.
Jim Grant, whose backyard looks onto the home, said he has seen a frequent police presence at the home and often saw people coming and going.
Grant said news of the shooting is worrying.
“It’s kind of scary when it’s that close to home,” said Grant, an Esquimalt firefighter and father of four. “You don’t want to see that in your neighbourhood.”
Saggar said police are looking into any connections to drugs or organized crime.
West Shore RCMP’s serious crime unit and crime reduction unit are investigating. No charges have been laid.
The shooting comes a day after Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth introduced the Community Safety Act, which, if passed, will allow someone to make a confidential complaint to a provincial government unit about a suspected drug house or nuisance property. The unit will investigate, contact property owners and take steps that could see problem tenants evicted or a property shut down for up to 90 days.
Ray Gudmundson said he heard about the legislation and is hopeful it will allow authorities to move more quickly on shutting down problem homes.
