(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)

An 11-year-old boy was hit by three ricocheted bullets when his father led Merritt RCMP on a violent, meth-fueled shootout and police chase last June.

Five officers chased his father in a stolen truck from Quilchena, through Merritt to Shulus in between two standoffs where Gerald Hartley Cooper and police exchanged gunfire.

"(His son) suffered three bullet wounds in Mr. Cooper's shootout with police. By some miracle, he survived," Justice Raymond Phillips told a Kamloops courtroom today, Nov. 7. "His father, while under the influence of meth, fired at police on two occasions with an automatic rifle as his 11-year-old son sat in the passenger seat. One can only imagine the shock and fear this child faced as his father shot at police."

His physical injuries were not life-threatening.

"(His son) is an amazing kid who has handled things very well, all things considered, but it was heartbreaking for him," Phillips said. "As I understand, he attends regular counselling sessions due to this traumatic event."

Cooper was charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm against his own son, among five he pleaded guilty to before being sentenced today. The bullets that hit his son were likely fired by RCMP toward the truck, which was riddled with bullet holes on its rear and driver side.

Police tried to stop him in the truck near Quilchena around 3:50 p.m. June 6, 2021, but Cooper fled, hitting a fence. An RCMP vehicle narrowly avoided a collision with the Ford truck, evading Cooper with their police cruiser.

Cooper was later spotted by police on Highway 5A while leaving Quilchena, but he led police on a chase until the truck came to a stop at the junction of highways 8 and 97C. 

A windshield in one of the RCMP cruisers was also shot out in the process, which police suspect was from one of Cooper's bullets, but it's possible it was shot out by one of the police officers.

Merritt RCMP were flagged off to a possible stolen sea can near Quilchena that day and found Cooper, 47, pulling the sea can on a trailer with a white Ford F-350. Both the trailer and the truck were stolen, but not from the same place.

What police likely didn't know yet was that Cooper had his young son in the truck — and he was also carrying a modified fully automatic firearm while on a crystal meth binge.

Cooper hadn't slept in three days.

He was taking his son on a road trip from Fort St. John to the Lower Mainland where he planned to sell the stolen truck and trailer, along with a modified rifle, which he used to fire at Merritt RCMP during the chase, Phillips said. While en route to the Lower Mainland to make the sale, Cooper detoured to Merritt to show his son where he grew up.

Phillips summarized Cooper's statements for the court, in which Cooper claimed he felt the police chase put his son in danger — and that's why he returned fire.

"He placed his son directly in harm's way by driving this stolen vehicle high on meth and engaged in a shootout with police while (his son) sat in the passenger seat of the vehicle," Phillips said. "Mr. Cooper's actions on that day can only be described as reckless, defiant and negligent. It is a miracle he and his son survived. It is also a miracle no officer or member of the public was injured given the number of shots fired,"

He led police on a chase from Quilchena to Shulus on Highway 8 where, in a final stand-off with five RCMP officers, he surrendered, waving a white t-shirt in the air.

One of the five officers rushed Cooper's son to hospital in lieu of an ambulance, which couldn't get close because of the ongoing shootout.

"(His son) had lacerations to his left and right chest wall and to his wrist caused by ricocheting bullets. An x-ray revealed a piece of shrapnel was located in his left chest wall. Due to his injuries (he) was transported by helicopter to the Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops."

Cooper also had a bullet in his stomach, while the truck was riddled with at least five bullet holes in its rear and more on its driver side.

One of the police officers was a military-trained medic, who attended to Cooper's injuries until he could be taken to hospital.

"Fortunately, no police officer was injured. However, all police officers involved were off work for some time as they processed and dealt with the trauma of having to discharge their firearms at another human being and coming close to being shot themselves while in the line of duty," Phillips said. "It was a miracle no one else was injured either by Mr. Cooper's reckless driving or being hit by stray bullets fired by Mr. Cooper."

B.C.'s police watchdog, Independent Investigations Office of B.C., launched its own investigation into the shootout, but found no reason to charge any police officer. Its December 2021 news release did not include the watchdog's full report, keeping it from the public while Cooper's charges remained before the courts.

The IIO news release noted "the child did not sustain a gunshot injury," contradicting what the court heard today.

Cooper pleaded guilty to five criminal charges, including possession of stolen property over $5,000, wielding a prohibited firearm and criminal negligence causing bodily harm of his son.

He was also facing charges for trafficking firearms in Fort St. John, but those were stayed.

However, his alleged criminal activity in Fort St. John is what led him to Merritt in the first place.

He was being investigated after authorities caught on to at suspicious restricted firearm purchases in the span of six months — 11 handguns and two carbines. Most were alleged to be modified into fully automatic weapons and carry more than their five-round limit.

After they were modified, he would sell them for profit to people suspected to be involved in criminal activity.

"Some pretty heavy dudes found out what I was doing and showed up at my place, and you don't tell these guys no," he told police, according to transcripts Phillips read out in court.

He was alleged to have been involved in the firearm sales in Fort St. John between February and August 2020. He would put a gun in his truck as a drop off point, then the buyer would take the gun and leave his cash behind.

The rifle he used in Merritt was modified from semi-automatic into a fully automatic action and also held 21 rounds in its magazine. The Crown sought a 10-year sentence, while Cooper's defense sought an eight-year sentence.

Phillips opted for a nine-year sentence, with 782 days credited for time already served.

Cooper will also submit his DNA for the national police database and be subject to a ten-year firearm prohibition.

Phillips then spoke to Cooper directly after delivering his sentence.

"Mr. Cooper, you are going to be in custody for some time. It's going to take a while to restore that relationship with your son," he said. "Hopefully you work towards that and you continue the rehabilitation steps that you have taken so far."

Cooper listened to Phillips' decision electronically while already in custody.

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