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Shotgun found, man charged with attempted murder in Nanaimo shooting

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A 48-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder after a shooting Monday in Nanaimo, B.C., which left another man in hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Robert Allen Estes, of no fixed address, is charged with one count of attempted murder and remains in police custody pending an appearance in Nanaimo provincial court scheduled for Aug. 11.

Mounties were called to a section of the Nanaimo Parkway near Northfield Road around 3:30 p.m. Monday after several drivers reported a man lying on the southbound side of the highway suffering from a gunshot wound.

Witnesses provided emergency first aid before paramedics arrived to transport the 43-year-old victim to hospital in Nanaimo. He was later airlifted to hospital in Victoria for further treatment.

Police say they identified and arrested a suspect in the shooting within 20 minutes of the first witness reports.

On Tuesday morning, investigators executed a search warrant in a nearby homeless encampment but the weapon believed to be used in the shooting, a sawed-off shotgun, was not found.

On Tuesday afternoon, investigators and police dogs combed through a "seemingly endless supply of bramble bushes" in the area of Northfield and Boxwood roads, where they eventually located the shotgun they believe was used in the shooting, said Nanaimo RCMP spokesperson Gary O'Brien.

The shotgun will undergo a forensic investigation as police continue their probe into the shooting.

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