Chase de Balinhard

Chase de Balinhard was a fifteen year old student from the Clayton Heights neighbourhood of Surrey, British Columbia, who lived with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). He was not a public figure by choice. He became known across Canada only after he was shot and killed by a Surrey RCMP officer on February 9, 2025, during a mental health crisis, a death that triggered a police watchdog investigation, debate in the provincial legislature, and a coroner's inquest that was still underway as of November 2026.

According to the Independent Investigations Office of British Columbia (IIO), Chase left his family's home on the afternoon of February 9, 2025, carrying a pellet handgun that closely resembled a real revolver. Within minutes he called 911 himself, telling the dispatcher that he had a gun, that he was autistic, and that he intended to harm himself. Responding officers believed they were confronting someone armed with a loaded, functional firearm. Witnesses said Chase appeared confused and was pointing the gun at his own head and waving it around. A short time after police arrived, an officer opened fire. Chase was hit by a single bullet and died at the scene.

The case mattered to a wide public because it became a flashpoint in a long running debate over how Canadian police are trained to respond to people with autism and other disabilities in the middle of a mental health emergency. Chase's parents, Crystal and Rick de Balinhard, said he did well in elementary school with extra support but that the support he received dropped off once he moved to high school. In the months after his death they gave interviews describing a bright, often funny teenager who loved filming things, and they pressed publicly for a coroner's inquest, for better de-escalation training for officers, and for clearer public data on police use of force against disabled people.

In December 2025, the IIO released a report clearing the two officers involved of any wrongdoing, concluding they were legally justified in opening fire because they reasonably believed Chase posed a lethal threat. That finding did not end the public scrutiny. A coroner's inquest, a non fault finding public inquiry meant to produce recommendations rather than assign blame, was called and began on November 9, 2026, in Burnaby. Chase's mother was the first witness, telling the inquest jury she wanted something good to come from her son's death and describing the chaotic hours after she learned a shooting had happened near their home.

Chase died seven days before what would have been his sixteenth birthday. His parents later said simply that their boy did not make it to sixteen. The inquest, which does not assign criminal or civil liability, continued through the week following November 9, 2026, with the jury expected to hear further testimony and ultimately issue recommendations aimed at preventing similar deaths.