Police tape cordons off a crime scene in Toronto on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Arlyn McAdorey

By The Canadian Press

IIO clears police in fatal shooting of autistic teen with weapon in Surrey, B.C.

Dec 4, 2025 | 12:27 PM

SURREY — British Columbia’s police watchdog agency says there are no reasonable grounds to believe officers committed an offence in the fatal shooting of a teenager in Surrey in February.

The Independent Investigations Office says in a report that the shooting happened on Feb. 9 during a 22-minute attempt by police to apprehend the 15-year-old male who had called 911, saying he had a firearm and was threatening to harm himself.

The report says the teen, who was autistic and had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, pointed what appeared to be a gun at police several times before two officers shot and fatally injured him.

The weapon was later found to be a replica firearm.

The office says it had statements from 18 civilian witnesses and 10 officers, in addition to various notes, records, recordings, forensic analysis and the teen’s autopsy to reach its conclusion.

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The report found that the officers were “acting in the lawful execution of their duty” during the attempt to detain the teen, who was walking with a weapon “through a heavily populated residential area waving and pointing” the replica gun.

The investigation also found the teen did not respond to multiple police orders to comply, and the use of less-lethal options such as pepper spray, plastic bullets and Tasers were “not appropriate” due to the teen moving out of their range, including at a full run at one point.

“Sadly, the (teen’s) inability to co-operate with the officers, and pointing the replica firearm at them in a clearly threatening manner, gave objectively reasonable grounds for the officers to fear grievous bodily harm or death,” IIO Chief Civilian Director Jessica Berglund says in the report.

“The evidence shows that the threat became acute in the final moments of the interaction, recorded on video, when the (teen) pointed his weapon at police in a manner that appeared deliberate and threatening.”

The report says the threat was significant enough that two officers separately “felt justified” to shoot “almost simultaneously” at that moment.

“The outcome was tragic and not desired by anyone who was interviewed in this investigation,” Berglund says. “However, the death was not the result of any unjustified use of force by any officer.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 4, 2025.

The Canadian Press