Cyclist shot by driver while taking part in 600km Canadian endurance event

Candian police are hunting for the driver of a pick up truck who shot a cyclist taking part in a 600km cycling event in what they believe was random attack.

Craig Premack, aged 59, was hit in the forearm by a bullet in the early hours of Sunday morning while competing in the Cache Creek 600, reports Global News. His family have expressed their releif that his injuries were not more serious.

His son Paul said: “We are happy he is alive. It is a blessing that he was hit in the arm, and nowhere near his head, his spine or his heart. We are happy that he is in stable condition, but we are shocked and worried.”

Premack, who belongs to the BC Randonneurs Cycling Club, was riding on his own at around the halfway point in the 600km event in British Columbia when he was shot on Highway 1 near Spences Bridge.

He was found by two other cyclists and taken to hospital, where his injuries were described as serious but not life threatening.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) were called to the incident at around 1am on Sunday morning, and said that the suspect fled the scene in a pick-up truck.

RCMP Constable Kris Clark said: “Spences Bridge is a populated area, but this happened about three kilometres south.

“We’ve established I think the ‘what, when and where. The two remaining questions are ‘who’ and ‘why’.”

“We’re trying to understand why something like this would happen. By all intents and purposes this does appear to be a random act,” he added.