Two hours before a 38-year-old man was shot several times in a house in Langford Tuesday night, West Shore RCMP were there responding to a disturbance.

One man was told to leave but no arrests were made. By 8:30 p.m., officers were back at the white bungalow at 2639 Sooke Rd. after the shooting.

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Debbie England, who grew up in the bungalow and whose nephew now owns the property, said her husband went to the house about 6 p.m. because he had keys to let police into the rental suite.

After a 13-hour manhunt, a 22-year-old Victoria man was arrested Wednesday at a home in the 3200 block of Quadra Street. Acting on a tip, Saanich police entered the home about 10 a.m. and took the suspected gunman into custody without incident.

Saanich police also arrested the 21-year-old resident of the Quadra Street home, who faces charges of accessory after the fact for allegedly helping the wanted man hide from police.

Police were waiting to obtain a search warrant for the Saanich residence to look for a handgun.

Both men were being held at West Shore RCMP detachment. Their names have not been released pending charge approval. West Shore RCMP has recommended charges of attempted murder against the 22-year-old.

The victim, a Langford man, was in Victoria General Hospital in serious condition. His name has not been disclosed.

Police are trying to determine what led to the shooting. West Shore RCMP detachment commander Staff Sgt. Steve Wright confirmed police were at the home about 6 p.m. Tuesday but would not give details. “If there was a threat, someone would have been arrested and further action would have been taken,” Wright said.

The home is divided into two rental suites. England said the tenant in the front unit is quiet and doesn’t cause any problems. But there have been problems with drug activity in the rear suite, she said. England said her nephew had been trying to get the female tenant out of the rear suite for a long time. “He had arranged for a truck to come today [Wednesday] to move her stuff and, of course, today is too late,” she said.

Wright said it appears the victim did not live at the home but was staying to help the woman move.

Barbara, a neighbour who lives across the street, said she heard sirens about 8:30 p.m. and stepped onto her front yard to see a man being wheeled out in a stretcher. She saw a woman, wearing pyjamas and wrapped in a blanket, crying hysterically on the phone, saying she was covered in blood. Barbara, who did not want to give her last name, said she heard the woman yell, “I don’t know” when questioned by police.

Donna Osuch, who lives across the street, said she had to sleep at her daughter’s because police wouldn’t let her back to her home Tuesday after they closed roads.

England said it was emotional knowing there had been a shooting in her childhood home. “I love this neighbourhood, I still live in this neighbourhood,” she said. “I feel safe here and yet you have this [happen]. So it’s really sad.”

Anyone with information is asked to call West Shore RCMP at 250-474-2264.



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