IIO Seeking Witnesses to an Incident near Merritt (2026-078)

Case: 2026-078 Incident Date: April 2, 2026 Detachment: BC Highway Patrol Location: Merritt Detachment: Merritt Agency: RCMP Incident Classification: Death Case Status: Open - Investigation in Progress

INFORMATION BULLETIN
Independent Investigations Office
For Immediate Release

Surrey, B.C. — The Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO) is seeking witnesses to an incident that occurred near Merritt on April 2, 2026.

Initial information provided by the RCMP states that at approximately 9.30 p.m., an officer located a vehicle parked on the side of Highway 97C near Iron Mountain Road south of Merritt. At the same time, police received a call from out of province, expressing concern for a family member believed to be in that area.

The officer on scene reported that the man inside the vehicle was armed with a firearm. Additional officers, including members of the Emergency Response Team (ERT) were called in and contained the area.

Police then used remote equipment and discovered the man had sustained what appears to be a self-inflicted injury while inside the vehicle. He was pronounced deceased on scene.

The IIO was notified shortly after the incident and has begun an investigation.

There are two factors that the IIO considers at the beginning of each investigation:

  1. If there has been an injury that meets the threshold of serious harm, as defined by the Police Act, or a death; and
  2. If there is a connection between the serious harm/death and officer action or inaction.

If both conditions are met, the investigation will continue to examine all available evidence to determine what occurred. At the conclusion of the investigation, the chief civilian director will consider whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that an offence may have occurred.

The IIO asks that any witnesses who have information regarding this matter to please contact the IIO at our Witness Line toll-free at 1-855-446-8477 or via the contact form on the iiobc.ca website.

Background

The IIO is the independent civilian oversight agency of officers and detention guards in British Columbia. It investigates all incidents involving officers or detention guards that result in serious harm or death, whether or not there is any allegation of wrongdoing.
info@iiobc.ca

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