A child and an adult man were taken to hospital with gunshot wounds after a police chase in Merritt yesterday, which has led to an investigation by the police watchdog.

Just before 4 p.m. yesterday, Merritt RCMP say they tried to stop a Ford F350 with a flat deck trailer which was believed to be stolen, and the driver fled from police.

At about 5:30 p.m., the truck was spotted on Highway 5A just outside of town, and police used a spike belt to try and stop the truck. Mounties eventually stopped it on Highway 8 near the Highway 97C turnoff.

“Throughout the incident guns shots were fired or were exchanged between the suspect(s) and police,” RCMP say in a news release.

“Ultimately two individuals were located inside the vehicle. One adult male and one child, believed to be under the age of 12-years old, were taken to hospital. No one else was injured.”

The shooting victims sustained “serious injuries” but further details are unclear so far.

The Independent Investigations Office of BC is now investigating the incident. The IIO is called in to any incident involving police where someone is seriously injured or killed, and, in this case, it will determine whether there was any wrongdoing by police that led to the two victims being shot.

(Photo: Facebook: Grant Rogers)