Suspect 'well known' to police in custody after 20-year-old woman fatally shot in Surrey

The RCMP's homicide team is investigating after a woman was fatally shot in the Guildford neighbourhood of Surrey, B.C., late Tuesday.

The woman, 20, was shot inside her townhouse in the 9700-block of 161A Street. She was taken to a regional trauma hospital and later died, according to the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT).

A man in his 20s was arrested within minutes of police arriving at the scene, and remains in custody Wednesday. Police said the victim and suspect weren't family, nor were they in an intimate relationship.

"We're still trying to determine the nature of their relationship, if any," said IHIT Sgt. Frank Jang.

Police first responded to a report of a dropped 911 call at the house at 8:53 p.m. PT.

While officers were en route, they received calls of shots fired. Police arrived on scene and found the woman suffering from a gunshot wound. The suspect was arrested at 9 p.m.

Jang said the woman was not known to police or linked to gang activity in the Lower Mainland, but the suspect was "well known" to RCMP.

"He might have gang ties and we're still looking to solidify those," the officer said.

Police said the motive for the shooting is unknown at this time.

"That is something we're still working on," said Jang.

Officers roped off part of a townhouse complex with police tape and investigators were canvassing the area and speaking to witnesses late Tuesday.

The killing is the fifth shooting in the Lower Mainland in as many days.

A 19-year-old man was killed in Surrey on Friday, a corrections officer was fatally shot near a busy mall in Delta on Saturday and a 25-year-old woman was shot in Burnaby early Sunday. On Monday, shots were fired outside of a mall in Langley.

"We understand that there is heightened anxiety amongst the public given the recent spate of shootings and homicides that have occurred across several communities in the Lower Mainland region. Certainly this recent homicide, this recent fatal shooting ... does very little to alleviate those concerns," said Jang.