Man shot by police near Kamloops abducted partner, child | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Kamloops News

Man shot by police near Kamloops abducted partner, child

Matthew Gustafson died in a stand-off with RCMP on Aug. 15, 2022, near Kamloops after allegedly abducting a former partner.
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A man shot and killed by police is alleged to have abducted his ex-partner and a child they shared near Kamloops on Sunday.

He's been identified as Matthew Gustafson by a person close to the situation. He had no prior convictions in B.C.

On Aug. 15, police ended an hours-long response when Gustafson exited a trailer on Deadman-Vidette Road carrying a child and a firearm.

He was shot and killed by police around 3 a.m. while holding the child.

Kamloops RCMP initially responded to reports of an abducted woman and child when a woman called 911 for help from inside a vehicle around 5:20 p.m., Aug. 14, according to a news release.

Dispatchers got a call from the public shortly after witnessing a woman trying to escape a vehicle while it was being driven erratically on Highway 1.

Around 5:45 p.m., police got a third call reporting a family member and a child were abducted and officers attended the scene, finding a weapon inside an empty vehicle.

It's unclear where that vehicle was and whether it's at the same property as the rural property where Gustafson was killed 14 kilometres off Highway 1.

A second woman was reported around 9 p.m. to be inside the suspect's home, bound and injured.

It wasn't until around 9 p.m. officers received a report of the "original suspect vehicle" on the rural property on Deadman-Vidette Road.

They established a roadblock and waited for the Emergency Response Team to arrive and usher Gustafson from a trailer on the property.

He exited roughly six hours later when he was shot during a confrontation with police.

The first woman was found inside the trailer, and both women were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

iNFOnews.ca has identified the first woman, but have concealed her name. The identity of the second woman is unknown.

It's unclear where police found the empty vehicle with a reported weapon inside. It's also unclear where the suspect's home is, where the second woman was found, and whether that's the same location as the empty vehicle.

The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. is investigating the incident to determine whether there was any charges should be recommended against the officer who shot Gustafson.

The family of the abducted woman have started an online fundraiser to help her as she recovers with her children.

"Thankfully they are all okay, but there is a lot of physical and emotional healing to be done. We would like to make this time as easy as possible for them and help cover some of the day-to-day expenses so they can spend this time together with no worries," the online fundraiser, started by family member Kirsten Hart, reads.

Hart's fundraiser has a goal of $10,000.

— This story was updated at 2:25 p.m., Aug. 16, 2022, to include information from an online fundraiser.


To contact a reporter for this story, email Levi Landry or call 250-819-3723 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

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