Shooting and high-speed chase through Surrey, Delta sparked by citizen patroller

What started as a neighbourhood patrol by a Surrey man in his pickup truck turned "incredibly dangerous" last night after the man approached a suspicious car, was shot at, then chased the car more than 20 kilometres at high speeds against police advice.

Surrey RCMP first learned what was going on when the man called them, at about 7:50 p.m. PT Monday night.

"While he was out patrolling his neighbourhood on his own accord, he came across a suspicious vehicle," said Sgt. Paul Hayes.

He confronted the people in the parked white sedan, who shot at the man's truck several times near 152 Street and 48 Avenue in Surrey. It's not clear what activity appeared suspicious, or how the man approached them.

• High-speed chase and shooting ends with crash in Delta

The suspects drove off, and the man chased after them, at "very high speeds," though police told him not to.

"Despite repeated requests to stop pursuing the suspect vehicle, the citizen refused to comply with our commands," said the RCMP in a news release.

They sped through Surrey, onto Highway 99, then north into Delta, exiting onto Highway 17 and then River Road, where the suspects' car crashed into a hydro pole.

They tried to leavebut were arrested by Delta police, who also seized a gun. The suspects were taken to hospital where one remains with non-life threatening injuries.

Don't chase suspects, say police

The citizen-on-patrol has not been charged, but his actions put himself and others in danger, said Hayes.

"It's incredibly dangerous for a private citizen to take part in a situation like this regardless of his intentions, and I'm quite sure they were probably very good."

Police are hoping that others may have seen part of what happened last nightand will share that information with investigators.

"This event took place through a very long distance," said Hayes. "We're trying to piece together the entire event from beginning to end, and that would very much assist us."

Anyone with information is asked to call Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502 or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS or solvecrime.ca

Hayes said the three suspects are likely to face charges. One of them, Cory Lee Myers, 25, of Surrey, was wanted on a Canada Wide warrant for failing to comply with probationand a local warrant for breaking and entering, according to police.

Map: Where the chase happened