One Langley resident is among the 37 people who have turned themselves in to police for taking part in the Stanley Cup riot on June 15.
The Vancouver Police Department’s Integrated Riot Investigation Team (IRIT) said it is currently preparing charges against the 30 men and seven women.
Most of them were from Surrey (nine) Vancouver (seven) and Maple Ridge (four).
Their names were not released.
IRIT said another 111 people are under investigation for potential charges of participating in a riot, assault, assaulting a police officer, mischief, break and enter, theft, robbery, arson, weapons possession, and possession of stolen property.
“There are literally hundreds more [rioters] who have been identified and who will become the subject of an investigation in the coming months,” a Vancouver Police statement said.
The trouble started in the closing seconds of the game when a thick plume of smoke wafted above the crowd on West Georgia Street in front of the central post office building near the stadium, believed to be from fireworks.
Moments later, a car burst into flames and fights broke out. Then, a second car was flipped and burst into flames. People set fires, vandalized property, and looted stores in the Vancouver downtown core, including the iconic Bay store on Granville Street.
Windows were smashed, cars were burned, liquor stores and other retailers were broken into and looted.
Police released tear gas to disperse crowds on Granville and Georgia Streets.
Fifty police and civilian experts from around the region are working in IRIT, combing through a flood of photos and videos taken by witnesses to the riot.
The team said it has catalogued hundreds of images of still-unknown people taken during the rioting that followed the Canucks loss.
Those pictures will be made public once they’ve been catalogued for witnesses to identify, IRIT said.
Anyone who hasn’t yet submitted their photos or video is asked to make copies of them and burn them to a CD or DVD.
Police advise keeping the memory card that contains the pictures or videos in case it needs to be examined further.
If the pictures or videos are stored on a cell phone, do not delete them.
Any other rioters who want to turn themselves in should call 778-838-2124 to make arrangements.
Tips can be left on the tip-line at 604-717-2541, e-mailed to riot@vpd.ca or phoned in to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.