A Kamloops RCMP officer guards a tent on Aug. 1, 2023, after a woman was shot a day earlier.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

A woman was shot and injured in a Kamloops riverside encampment yesterday afternoon.

Kamloops RCMP closed the area around Schubert Drive and Richmond Avenue as they protected the scene on Tuesday.

A neighbour told iNFOnews.ca he saw the victim as she was loaded into an ambulance yesterday, July 31. He didn't hear anything before the sirens Monday afternoon, but police told him she was shot as officers asked residents for surveillance footage.

Officers have the area around Schubert and Richmond closed on Aug. 1, 2023.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

Although the roadway remains closed, the scene of the shooting appears to be a tent on the beach, more than 100 metres from the treed riverbank along Schubert.

Police were called to help paramedics at the scene around 5:30 p.m., where a 40-year-old Kamloops woman appeared to be suffering from gunshot injuries, according to a Kamloops RCMP news release issued Tuesday afternoon.

She remains in "serious condition," police said.

“At this point we believe the victim and assailant were known to each other and this appears to have been a targeted shooting,” Supt. Jeff Pelley said in the news release.

Residents in nearby camps seemed not to know anything about the shooting. One ignored questions from iNFOnews.ca while others said they didn't know who was in the tent on the beach nor who might have been injured.

Gord, a few blocks south of the police blockade, said multiple officers pointed rifles at him while he was near his camp. They ordered him on the ground as they searched his camp for a firearm or a suspect, he said. 

He's now recovering, frustrated by the aggressive nature of the incident. It was the third time within a week police or bylaw officers came down to his camp, Gord said.

Another man even further south, Trevor, said he was riding his bike near Comox Avenue Monday afternoon when he saw police pointing their rifles down toward the riverbank.

"We're not responsible for your safety," they said to Trevor, warning him to leave the area as they tried to find a suspect.

Kamloops RCMP described the suspect as a Caucasian man with a shaved head. He was wearing a white tank top and black shorts at the time.

Officers, with help from police dogs, flooded the area to track down the suspect, but they did not find him.

Police will likely be at the scene until sometime Tuesday evening and are looking to the public for witness accounts or video surveillance.

They are looking for footage from the area around Schubert Drive and Richmond Avenue from 4:30 p.m. to 5:45 p.m., July 31, along with witness accounts from anyone walking in the nearby trails or along the beach.

Although police described the suspect, it's not clear whether they have identified a suspect or whether the victim has provided any information to investigators.

— This story was updated at 12:20 p.m., Aug. 1, 2023, with more comments from nearby residents.

— This story was updated at 1:35 p.m., Aug. 1, 2023, with information from Kamloops RCMP.

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