April 3 update: Still no suspect in custody in North Van shooting

Homicide investigators have been called to the scene of a North Vancouver shooting that left a woman on life support in hospital.

The woman, who has not been publicly identified, was rushed to hospital in critical condition Tuesday morning after she was shot in the area of 12th Street and Lonsdale Avenue.

Police are still searching for a suspect in the shooting that occurred around 11 a.m., but say they don't believe there is any risk to the public. They have not provided any information on a possible motive, nor have they said whether they believe they're looking for more than one person.

Speaking to media a few hours after the shooting, RCMP Sgt. Peter DeVries said investigators believe it was "not a random attack."

However, he added that he was not saying the shooting was targeted. DeVries would not go into further detail, nor would he provide more information on a possible suspect or suspects.

The RCMP does not have anyone in custody, but DeVries said officers do not think the public is at risk as the shooting appears to be an isolated incident.

The investigation is ongoing, and the area around the scene is expected to be cordoned off for what DeVries called a "significant amount of time."

Mounties first posted about the shooting on Twitter, writing, "We are requesting the public to avoid the area for the time being."

Police tape could be seen from CTV News Vancouver's Chopper 9 helicopter blocking off an area near the Capilano Lodge.

There appeared to be blood on the ground marked in a parking lot behind the Masonic centre. Three pylons marked the blood and other items located nearby.

A short time later, officers were seen stopping drivers as they headed south over the Lions Gate bridge.

"One of the investigational steps is to try to see if we can stop a person leaving the scene, and that includes roads and bridges," DeVries said.

"Within about an hour, we had about 25 officers actively investigating this."

A man who was working nearby said he heard "what sounded like a faint scream" followed by three loud bangs.

Eric Sankey told CTV he thought it sounded like gunshots, but that's not something one would expect to hear in the middle of the day in North Vancouver.

"All of a sudden, the police and fire started showing up… It's pretty shocking," he said.

Another witness, Dawn Blaschuk, said she'd been sitting at her desk at around 11 a.m. when she heard five or six bangs. Initially she assumed the noise came from a nearby construction site, but then she saw an RCMP cruiser do a U-turn outside the store where she works.

Several other police cars arrived at the scene, then she saw paramedics load an injured person into an ambulance.

"It was pretty close to home," she said.

"Things like that just don't happen because we're a medical district, so it's mostly medical and office buildings."

Blaschuk said she was shocked when she found out someone was shot.

"This is North Van. It's a pretty sleepy little area still… It is kind of disheartening to think that that's now coming here too. I live here, I work here, you know, the whole bit. And that's really close to home. My car was literally parked like 20 feet from this person," she said.

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Allison Hurst in North Vancouver

Editor's note: This article previously stated that the victim had died. The update was based on a statement from IHIT that she had died, but the team later issued a correction that the woman was on life support.