The B.C. Coroners Service has confirmed the identity of a man who died following an interaction with RCMP in Nanaimo on Tuesday.
Mounties were called to the area of Norwell Drive and Highway 19A at around 10:20 a.m. for a report of a man brandishing a knife.
When they found him on nearby Country Club Drive, officers fired at the suspect following what police only describe as "an encounter with the male."
The man was taken to hospital but later succumbed to his injuries.
Several police cruisers could be seen along Departure Bay Road near Wassell Way after residents reported hearing gunshots ring out near St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church.
One cruiser's driver's side was covered with a tarp, but police say no one else was injured in the incident.
“I heard a couple pop sounds actually from an apartment building I live in just across from the church here, and I just jumped out of my seat as soon as I heard that,” said Brent Frain. “I was really just shocked. It sounded like gunshots to me. Next thing, cops were everywhere and emergency vehicles, so now I’m here and just checking it out.”
Sonjia Grandahl, who lives right behind the church, said she heard the two shots followed by sirens.
"It was two gunshots I heard. It was really loud and it just echoed throughout the building," she said. "I saw the police from my balcony and started seeing them putting up yellow tape."
Nanaimo RCMP said there was no risk to the public following the shooting.
Students at nearby Wellington Secondary School were not placed on lockdown or impacted by the incident, according to police.
Part of the church parking lot was cordoned off by police tape as officers investigated the scene.
On Thursday the coroner's office confirmed the man was 49-year-old Craig Andrew Ford from Nanaimo.
Court documents show a man with the same name, Craig Ford, has a number of impaired and dangerous driving charges and appeared in Nanaimo court for breach of probation on June 12.
The Independent Investigations Office continues to investigate Ford's death.
The IIO investigates whether any offences may have been committed by the police officers involved.
