A family travelling along the Lost Creek Forest Service Road (FSR) recently had a near miss due to illegal shooting in the area.
As the family drove through the area, a stray bullet entered their vehicle through an open window and landed inside the cup holder of one of the children’s car seats, Mission RCMP stated in a press release.
The family had heard shots being fired in the area, but it wasn’t until the father heard a noise within their SUV that they realized they were in danger. They did not see who fired the shot and no suspects have been identified at this time.
No one was injured.
Mission RCMP, the City of Mission, the Fraser Valley Regional District, and the BC Conservation Officer Service are asking gun owners to learn the rules around shooting before coming to the FSRs in Mission.
Mission RCMP have said that the issue tends to be with out-of-towners, not locals.
In a press release, Mission RCMP stated that they have been called out to reports of illegal shooting in the backcountry and the offenders are almost always a group of males from elsewhere in the Lower Mainland.
They state that the groups usually take cars that cannot get to more isolated wilderness where shooting firearms would be safe and lawful.
As per the “Fraser Valley Regional District’s No Shooting Areas Map,” areas within 400 metres of FSRs are closed to shooting. This 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.
Mission RCMP and the BC Conservation Officer Service state that it will be increasing patrols in the backcountry.