Along the Fraser In the name of habitat restoration. p6
Cyclist killed by SUV father of three. p12
THE NEWS
Community The comfort of Sonia’s Cradle. p3
www.mapleridgenews.com Friday, June 1, 2012 · Serving Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows · est. 1978 · 604-467-1122 · 50¢
THE NEWS/files
So far, 24 cats have been killed, including Buttercup.
Cat head dumped at school Two more killed this week, 24 now in past year by M o n i s h a M a r t i n s staff reporter
Tim Fitzgerald/Black Press
RCMP Supt. Dave Walsh explains the shooting to media at 216th Street and 128th Avenue in Maple Ridge on Wednesday. See video @ mapleridgenews.com.
Shooting suspect shot dead Angus David Mitchell was spotted near 132 Avenue by M o n i s h a M a r t i n s staff reporter A man wanted in connection with three shootings in Burnaby was shot and killed in north Maple Ridge on Wednesday. RCMP confirmed Angus David Mitchell, 26, died in hospital hours after being surrounded by police near 132nd Avenue,
where a full-fledged gun battle took place prior to his arrest. A woman spotted Mitchell’s green Ford Aerostar van around 11 a.m., less an hour after RCMP issued an alert asking the public to keep an eye out for it. Plainclothes officers from Ridge Meadows RCMP kept the van under surveillance after confirming Mitchell was inside, while other officers shut down streets. Police tried to talk Mitchell out of his car, but he would not cooperate.
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Mitchell shot at the officers with his high-powered Mossberg Maverick hunting rifle, but did not attempt to flee. No officers were injured. Mitchell Craig Marquis, who owns MREC Feed and Tack on 132nd Ave., near 224th Street,
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heard the gunshots. “It sounded like a couple of single gun shots and then machine-gun fire,” he said. Vancouver Police have taken charge of the scene and will investigate the shooting. “These situations are tragic. Nobody in law enforcement likes to see this type of situation end up in gun fire,” Ridge Meadows RCMP Supt. Dave Walsh said. “Not a happy day for us and not the resolution we were looking for.” See Shooting, p10
The B.C. SPCA is tracking down several leads after two men were spotted behind a Maple Ridge elementary school where the head of cat was dumped on Wednesday. The remains of a cat were found at Harry Hooge elementary, at 12280 – 230th Street, while the leg of a calico cat was found blocks away outside a house on 221st Street, bringing the total number of feline deaths to nine in the past two weeks. In the past year, a total of 24 dismembered cats have been found in the municipality, mostly in an area between 217th and 230th streets. Alex Pope’s 10-year-old daughter, his five-year-old son and their classmates stumbled upon a cat’s severed head during the lunch break at Harry Hooge. The cat was left at the school between recess and lunch. “It’s a little bit creepy that it was during school hours that someone was on school property doing something like that,” said Pope. See Cats, p10
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