Man targeted in vehicle explosion in B.C.'s Kootenays suffers life-threatening injuries: police

RCMP are investigating after a 41-year-old man in B.C.'s Kootenay region was seriously injured in a vehicle explosion on Friday that police say appears to have been a targeted attack.

Mounties said in a statement the man was inside a vehicle parked in the driveway of a residence in Montrose, B.C., a village of about 1,000 residents located 10 kilometres east of Trail, when the explosion occurred around 6:39 a.m. 

Police say the man, who was known to them before the incident, suffered life-threatening injuries and was taken to the Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital for medical treatment.

Trail and Greater District RCMP Sgt. Mike Wicentowich says police are still determining the cause of the explosion but it appears to be an isolated and targeted incident and there is no danger to the public at this time.

Wicentowich says his detachment is now working with the B.C. RCMP's Explosive Device Unit and Nelson RCMP's Forensic Identification Section investigating the cause of the explosion

He says B.C.'s Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU) has also been notified the incident may be gang-related.

Wicentowich says there has been an increase in organized crime activity in recent years, including drive-by shootings and homicides around Trail and its neighbouring communities.

"Groups, or what you would consider gangs, are now starting to operate here, so the competition has gotten much more intense," he said.

Trail RCMP are asking the public to stay away from the site of the explosion until the investigation is complete and the area is confirmed safe.