Someone opened fire on a BC RCMP officer who approached their car

Mounties in Merritt, BC are searching for someone who rolled down their window and shot at a police officer who was approaching their car.

The officer had spotted a suspicious Jeep Cherokee parked at a rest area near Hamilton Road and turned on his cruiser’s lights to notify the occupants he was approaching.

As the officer walked toward the vehicle, someone inside rolled down the passenger window to reveal the barrel of a gun — and then shot at the officer.

The officer wasn’t hit and fired back at the vehicle as it sped away.

“It’s unknown if anyone in the vehicle was injured from the member firing their service pistol,” Sgt. Josh Roda said. “We are asking anyone with information on this incident, or may be treating anyone for an injury consistent with being shot to immediately call 911.”

Merritt is about three hours from Vancouver, and police are asking anyone with dash-cam footage in the area to come forward. The suspect vehicle is described as a mid-2000s dark-coloured Jeep Cherokee with a square body style, no running lights, and snow covering the licence plate. It may have bullet holes or broken windows.

Mounties didn’t say why the officer thought the Jeep Cherokee was suspicious.