John Vance, 32, was shot and killed on the morning of June 25, 2021, in Scotch Creek.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/B.C. RCMP

The first police officers at the scene of a 2021 Shuswap shooting knew the victim immediately.

John Vance, 32, was motionless next to his truck at a Scotch Creek car wash when Const. Kevin Gien arrived around 6 a.m. With feet on the running board of his Dodge Ram, Vance's back was on the ground with a shotgun near his shoulder and a bullet wound in his chest.

"Help is coming, John. Don't move," an officer can be heard saying in a police dash cam video.

Gien testified to a Kamloops jury on April 29, nearly four years after the shooting. Paul Binder, who operated the car wash and lived next door, shot Vance and is accused of second-degree murder.

READ MORE: Self-defence or murder? Trial in Shuswap car wash killing begins

Gien and his partner were familiar with Vance, having dealt with him on the job multiple times, court heard. Less than a year earlier, Vance had assaulted Gien within Chase RCMP cells.

A video shown to the jury showed the Chase officers arrive that morning and Binder approach to tell them he had shot Vance. The shooting itself was just outside the car wash and caught on a surveillance camera, but Vance was found in a bay near his truck with the door open.

In addition to the shotgun nearby, he had a machete on his hip, the jury heard.

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The officers moved the weapons and dragged Vance to flat ground so one could preform life-saving measures, while Gien began questioning Binder about what had happened. The other officer could be heard saying Vance had no pulse and wasn't breathing, and he was later declared dead when paramedics arrived.

Car wash security footage shown to the jury depicted a confrontation between Vance and Binder. What, if anything, was said between them wasn't heard in the courtroom, nor was the reason Vance was there.

Vance appeared to move toward Binder and he was then shot.

The trial will continue through the week, but the jury won't be tasked with deciding who shot Vance. Instead, Crown prosecutor Laura Drake said she expects the jury will have to decide whether the shooting was self-defence or murder.

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