Bridge River suspect identified

Oct 16, 2015 | 6:49 PM

The BC Coroners Service has identified the man believed to have carried out the attack in the offices of the Bridge River Indian Band near Lillooet Wednesday.

He was 22-year-old David Allan Patrick James of Lillooet. James is believed to have used a tool to injure 10 people, two of them critically inside the band office. He was subdued as part of the response and lost consciousness, eventually dying while in police custody.

Because it has been deemed a police-involved death the Independent Investigations Office is conducting its own investigation as is RCMP and the Coroners Service.

Meantime Chief Susan James issued a news release today saying quote “Our band office staff had been working with this young man to develop a realistic plan for stable housing, and a way for him to pay his rent. He had complex social and health needs that our staff did not have the resources or training to adequately respond to. And when the situation became overwhelming for him, he lashed out.”