Mission – “where did you get the gun, John?” – Rain Dance by The Guess Who.
Mission RCMP, the City of Mission, the Fraser Valley Regional District, and the BC Conservation Officer Service are urging gun owners to educate themselves before coming to shoot their guns along the Forest Service Roads of Mission.
The backcountry areas of Mission are known to be recreational destinations, but unfortunately, police are regularly called to these areas due to people illegally and unsafely discharging firearms. A family travelling along the Lost Creek Forest Service Road (FSR) recently experienced the real danger first-hand, after a stray bullet entered their vehicle. The family of four was driving their SUV along the FSR near Davis Lake and heard shooting happening in the area; however, immediately after hearing another gunshot, the father heard a noise inside the vehicle, and looked over to see a bullet spinning around inside the cup holder of one of his children’s car seats. Amazingly, no one was injured. It appears that the bullet entered the vehicle through an open window. The family did not see who fired the shot, and no suspects have been identified at this time.
Although this incident had high potential to cause serious injury or loss of life, this type of irresponsible behaviour is not uncommon; however, the problem doesn’t seem to be with locals. Over the past year, in cases where Mission RCMP located people illegally shooting in the backcountry, the offenders were nearly always a group of males from elsewhere in the Lower Mainland – usually Surrey – who often come in passenger cars that cannot get to more isolated wilderness areas where discharging firearms may be safe and lawful. And although one or more of the group usually has a valid firearms license, that does not allow them to use their guns in areas that are closed to shooting. As per the “Fraser Valley Regional District’s No Shooting Areas Map”, areas within 400 metres of FSRs are closed to shooting – which covers most of the vehicle-accessible areas around the FSRs in the Mission area. Penalties can range from a fine under the Wildlife Act, to the seizure of firearms and a person’s firearms license, to criminal charges.
With Spring weather here, Mission RCMP and the BC Conservation Officer Service will be increasing patrols in the backcountry. If you see someone shooting anywhere within the vicinity of an FSR, move to a safe distance, then call 911. You just might help to prevent a stray bullet from finding its way into another family’s vehicle.
