Here’s a roundup of crime news from around Metro Vancouver and B.C. on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025
The New Westminster courthouse and neighbouring Douglas College campus were evacuated late Tuesday morning after police received a threat against the court.
Police evacuated the B.C. Supreme Court at 651 Carnarvon St. and asked anyone who lives or works near the area to leave.
“We treat every threat as real until we can determine otherwise,” said Sgt. Andrew Leaver of the New Westminster Police Department. He said police became aware of the threat to the courthouse at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.
He refused to provide details on the nature of the threat or how police were told about it.
New Westminster police are working with the B.C. Sheriff Service and B.C. Transit Police. Police dogs and emergency response officers are also at the site, along with New West firefighters and B.C. ambulance paramedics.
Road closures are in effect around the courthouse, from 6th Street to Begbie Street and from Carnarvon to Agnes streets.
“We are asking anyone to leave the area for their own safety and to co-operate with the direction from our officers,” Leaver said.
Douglas College cancelled all in-person classes and events scheduled to begin before 3 p.m. Tuesday as a precaution.
The courts are beside the college, which ordered the evacuation shortly before noon. Douglas’s Coquitlam campus and its Anvil office tower are not affected by the evacuation.
Witnesses sought to fatal Dec. 26 crash in Cranbrook
Police in southeast B.C. continue to investigate a Boxing Day crash that left a woman dead and three others seriously injured.
The crash on Dec. 26 at about 7:30 p.m. happened on Highway 3/95 near Stropky Road in Cranbrook, when a southbound black Cadillac Escalade hit a northbound red Honda CRV.
A 64-year-old woman, the only passenger in the CRV, died, while the Honda driver and two passengers in the Escalade were seriously hurt.
The cause of the head-on crash is still under investigation, and neither speed nor impairment has been ruled out.
“B.C. Highway Patrol is asking anyone who saw the events leading up to this collision to speak with us about what happened, and we are especially interested in any dash camera video,” said Cpl. Michael McLaughlin in a statement on Tuesday.
It was the second fatal collision in less than a week in winter conditions near Cranbrook, and McLaughlin is urging drivers to slow down, drive sober and avoid distractions.
Anyone with information is asked to call the B.C. RCMP highway patrol in Cranbrook at 250-420-4244.