Canada: Gun Violence, Shootings 'Unacceptable' in BC

[nicolewong]

Five arrested in daring rescue of kidnapped student

The Canadian Press
February 19, 2009

Five people were arrested in three simultaneous takedowns in Vancouver and Burnaby Thursday morning to rescue an 18-year-old student who was kidnapped three days earlier.

The victim was taken from his West End home on Sunday while kidnappers called his parents — who live in China — to demand what police say was a “very large ransom.”

It’s unclear why the victim, whose name has not been released, was targeted.

Vancouver Police Chief Deputy Doug LePard said investigators were working around the clock to find the teenager.

“As soon as we were notified we initiated an extensive and complex investigation that included wiretaps and round-the-clock surveillance,” LePard said.

“While the events were unfolding, we identified several residences and suspects and placed them under surveillance.”

At 7:45 Thursday morning, police stopped vehicles at Fraser Street and Kingsway, Main Street and Marine Drive, and Kingsway near Metrotown, arresting five suspects and rescuing the victim, who was physically unharmed.

Police used flash-bang grenades during the rescue, which residents thought were gunshots.

“It was an unbelievable investigation under very trying circumstances,” LePard said.

 

[nicolewong]

Man shot dead at Pacific Mall

The Canadian Press
February 21, 2009

Toronto - A 26-year-old man is dead after being shot in the head in the mobile phone store where he worked inside Markham's Pacific Mall last night.

Kit Chun Cheong of Toronto was shot inside Xsite before being taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries, where he later died. He is York Region's first murder of the year, said Const. Gary Phillips.

A single gunshot was fired in the basement level of the mall around 8:45 p.m., 15 minutes before the building closed for the night.

Steve Wong, a supervisor at Auto Parts in the mall, ran out of his shop to see a man slumped on the floor outside the mobile phone store, surrounded by security guards.

The attacker had already fled the scene.

"It's pretty scary," Wong said.

The mall was mostly empty when the shot was fired, he said. "If it was busier, it could have been bad," he said.

Police don't know the motive but said they are looking for a male shooter, brown or black in complexion, about 6-feet-tall with a thin build, some facial hair, and wearing a black winter jacket.

Officers were stationed around the mall, blocking pedestrians and vehicles from leaving the area after the shooting. A police helicopter circled the area for most of the evening.

"Nobody's leaving until we've collected all the information we can," Const. Cathryn Harris of York Region police said yesterday.

Police are still stationed at the mall, gathering evidence and interviewing witnesses.

Video surveillance was also recovered from the mall.

Wong said he believes the violence will scare away some of the centre's customers.

"People won't want to come. They are shocked," he said.

 

[nicolewong]

Man shot after fight on bus

The Canadian Press
February 23, 2009

Toronto police are looking for three men believed to have been involved in a shooting on a bus this afternoon on Oakwood Ave.

The police describe the suspects as black and in their early 20s.

Police were called to the scene at around 1:20 this afternoon after a man was shot and pistol whipped after he got on a bus on Oakwood Ave. near Vaughan Ave. in the Oakwood-St. Clair Ave. area.

First, a verbal dispute between the victim and three other men broke out, police say.

Then a physical fight broke out and a shot was fired by one of the suspects.

The trio and the victim, who all apparently knew each other, then continued the fight outside the bus where more shots were fired, according to police.

Then the three men ran away, leaving the victim on the sidewalk with a gunshot wound to his hip.

Twelve passengers were on the bus at the time of the shooting. They have all been taken to police headquarters for questioning.

Police officers, the ETF and the police canine unit were all on the scene this afternoon looking for clues.

Police weren't sure if the suspects are still in the area but weren't taking any chances.

Some shell casings were later recovered by officers.

A portion of Oakwood from Vaughan Ave. to Jesmond Ave. was cordonned off while police conducted the investigation.

Police are advising neighbourhood residents to be on guard as the person with the gun is still at large.

 

[nicolewong]

Shooting Vancouver's 13th in just over two weeks

The Canadian Press
February 23, 2009

VANCOUVER - Vancouver police are in the area of East 12th Ave. and St. Catherines in Vancouver dealing with the city's 13th shooting in just over two weeks.

A 29-year-old man was shot several times. Witnesses say they heard multiple shots fired from what sounded like an automatic weapon.

Police have attended a rash of deadly shootings in Vancouver and the surrounding area this year and hundreds of people gathered in Surrey, B.C., on the weekend to condemn the violence.

VPD Major Crimes Robberry Assault Squad is continuing their investigation and have an alley taped off between 11th and 12th Ave just off St. Catherines.

 

[tommy]

Vancouver is turning into a wild wild west town where the gun rules the streets :(

 

[neddy]

Vancouver is turning into a wild wild west town where the gun rules the streets :(

You will know when Vancouver turn into a gun city ~ when the local press stop reporting the gun violence because it is too common.

 

[nicolewong]

 

[nicolewong]

Man shot to death at Delta

The Canadian Press
March 3, 2009

One man is dead after a shooting in Delta last night, the latest in a string of violent slayings in the Metro Vancouver area.

Police were called to Ladner Trunk Road, near the Delta Golf Course, around 6:40 p.m. for a suspicious incident, Delta police spokeswoman Constable Sharlene Brooks said. It's believed to have involved a vehicle.

There, they found Sukhwinder Singh, 32-years-old, who'd been shot dead.

"Police have confirmed there is one adult male deceased as a result of a gunshot wound or wounds," she said. The man had been shot in the head.

Police had made no arrests, and shut down a stretch of the highway while they investigated. Video footage suggested the man was shot inside or near a vehicle, but Constable Brooks would not say.

 

[KKC007]

This is just crazy.

Is it just BC that has soft laws on firearms? How is safety in general? Do you feel safe? Do the RCMP need to wear bulletproof vests?

Do you think I should advise my friend's son to take care. He is thinking of doing a 6 month working holidays at the Big White for the next ski season.

Neddy, I take it you live in Australia. We get lots of Oz people working the ski resorts every winter.

I seriously doubt this NicoleWong knows anything about Vancouver. It looks like she's in here to tell people not to move to Canada.

Anyways, Big White is safe. It is a good 4 - 5 hours from Vancouver. Kelowna, the nearest city, is about 45 min down the hill. It is in the heart of BC's wine country.

If your friend's son is thinking of working in BC next year, why not ask him to volunteer for the Olympics in Whistler?

The recent spike in gun violence is a concern to the locals. Is it safe in BC? Personally, I'll say yes, for now. If these recent shootings are related (ie gangs revenge), then I will not feel safe until the war is over. Life goes on as usual for majority of people in Vancouver.

 

[neddy]

Neddy, I take it you live in Australia. We get lots of Oz people working the ski resorts every winter.

I seriously doubt this NicoleWong knows anything about Vancouver. It looks like she's in here to tell people not to move to Canada.

Anyways, Big White is safe. It is a good 4 - 5 hours from Vancouver. Kelowna, the nearest city, is about 45 min down the hill. It is in the heart of BC's wine country.

If your friend's son is thinking of working in BC next year, why not ask him to volunteer for the Olympics in Whistler?

The recent spike in gun violence is a concern to the locals. Is it safe in BC? Personally, I'll say yes, for now. If these recent shootings are related (ie gangs revenge), then I will not feel safe until the war is over. Life goes on as usual for majority of people in Vancouver.

Whistler sound great. But I understand that the local agent is handling all the paperwork and the ski resorts will decide what kind of jobs these people will take. I believe the numbers will be down next year because of the financial crisis. These kids are pretty lucky to enjoy overseas working holidays, some are heading for Japan or even London.

I gather that the media in BC is also playing up the gun violence.

Do stay safe.

 

[nicolewong]

Shootings in Burnaby , Surrey and East Vancouver

The Canadian Press
March 3, 2009

A man and woman were shot to death in separate shootings in Vancouver and Burnaby late Tuesday night as gunshots also rang out in Surrey .

EAST VANCOUVER FATAL

Police confirmed Wednesday they are hunting for two suspects in a fatal east Vancouver shooting Tuesday night.

Const. Lindsey Houghton said two men wearing dark clothing were seen running from the scene.

Swanson Goch, who lives with his family near 3rd and Kaslo, said he was watching TV when he heard "five pops and thought it was gunfire right away."

“Acts of violence do frustrate us,” Houghton said. “We share the concerns of the public and the community ... We want more than anything to arrest these people.”

Police responded to calls of multiple shots fired in the 1900-block Kaslo Street at East 5th Avenue at about 9:50 p.m.

There they found a silver vehicle with its four-ways flashing and the driver’s-side window smashed out.

An Indo-Canadian male in his 20s was dead, slumped over the wheel and covered in blood.

An autopsy is being arranged to determine the victim’s identity.

Meanwhile, the manhunt is still on for the two suspects and the VPD search and canvass team were on scene Wednesday, combing the area for evidence.

FATAL IN BURNABY

The Burnaby shooting occurred at 9 p.m. on the 25th floor of an apartment complex at the 2300-block of Madison Avenue. The deceased woman was taken to Burnaby Hospital which was placed under heavy security.

A man who was also inside the apartment was shot in the shoulder and is expected to survive.

There were unconfirmed reports the Burnaby shooting may have involved innocent victims.

SHOTS IN SURREY

At around the same time, there were reports of shots fired near 68 Avenue and 131 Street in Surrey close to the scene of the shooting death of Andrew Michael Cilliers, 26, who was blasted in the driveway of a home in the 6200-block of 131A Street.

A witness said there were several shell casings on the street. It is believed an injured man arrived at an area hospital shortly after the Surrey shooting. Mounties had sealed off the area.

The Tuesday night mayhem came the same day police said Tilli-Choli was one of the biggest threats to public safety in the Lower Mainland.

 

[nicolewong]

Man shot 3 days after house shot up

The Canadian Press
March 5, 2009

A Surrey man whose rental home was peppered with gunfire on the weekend was shot near the house three days later.

The 22-year-old man was gunned down in the 13000-block 68A Avenue in Newton shortly after 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

A source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the home was riddled with bullets in a drive-by shooting early Saturday. Several cars were seen fleeing the scene after the incident.

Surrey RCMP spokesman Sgt. Roger Morrow said police who responded to calls of shots fired Tuesday night witnessed a white Infiniti SUV fleeing the scene. Residents in the area also reported seeing a dark pickup pull up near the same home with four to five men inside before opening fire.

Laila Yuile was watching a hockey game on TV when she heard the gunshots ring out.

"I heard seven to eight in succession and the last four were quite slow and deliberate," she said.

 

[nicolewong]

Cops comb highrise apartment for clues to double shooting

The Canadian Press
March 5, 2009

Homicide investigators combed a 25th-floor apartment near Burnaby's Brentwood Mall yesterday trying to solve a double shooting that left one woman dead and a man in critical condition in hospital.

The One Madison Avenue tower is one of several new buildings on a cul-de-sac in a former industrial area now being redeveloped. It is bounded by Highway 1, the Lougheed Highway, rail lines, a lumber yard and a company called Sky-Hi Scaffolding Ltd.

Cpl. Dale Carr of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said the dead woman was of Asian descent and in her mid-20s, and police may have to contact overseas agencies to confirm her identity.

The Asian man, believed to be in his 30s, is in critical but stable condition in hospital.

"We're hopeful that as soon as he is able he can provide us with a lot of information," said Carr.

"We identified a witness, and we're going to review the security-camera video in the building. Hopefully we can identify somebody and make an arrest."

 

[nicolewong]

 

[nicolewong]

Two men gunned down in Surrey

The Canadian Press
March 5, 2009

• One man shot in head, other in leg in gunplay next to a shopping mall
• This was the sixth shooting in Greater Vancouver in the last 24 hours

Two men were shot at a Surrey gas station next to a busy shopping mall at about 7 p.m. yesterday in the latest round of shootings in the Lower Mainland.

Both men - one shot in the head and the other in the leg - were taken to hospital, say Surrey RCMP.

One man was pumping gas while the other was sitting in a red Chevy Malibu at a Chevron station at 122nd Street and 72nd Avenue when a man approached the Chevy and opened fire.

Witnesses say a man was seen running to a beige getaway car. RCMP had the area cordoned off as they searched for a suspect described as a non-white male.

The shooting occurred next to the Strawberry Hill mall, which includes the Cineplex Odeon 12 cinemas.

"It's terrifying," said Renee Gaill, who was shopping next to the station. "It's scary to go out. This is a busy shopping mall, so it just goes to show these shootings can happen anywhere."

People in the mall were stunned by the shooting.

"I heard gunshots, four or five crackers," said Tariq, who didn't want to give his last name. "This is really scary down here. A lot of citizens come here every night to the Tim Hortons and the movie theatres. It's unbelievable what has happened. Now we're all scared."

"Surrey's not safe any more, that's for sure," said Rita Brar.

The RCMP towed the victims' vehicle from the station, which was splattered with blood and littered with glass. This was the sixth shooting in Greater Vancouver in the last 24 hours.

Investigators were probing a seven-hour crime wave -- five shootings, one in Vancouver, one in Burnaby, and three in Surrey.

In Vancouver, dozens of officers combed Kaslo Street hunting for two suspects who murdered Sunil Mall, 27, the latest victim in Metro Vancouver gun violence.

"I heard the shots, then I saw a couple of people running down the street," said Ron Duncan, 88, who lives nearby from where shattered glass was all that remained of the grey car in which Mall sat when he was shot to death. "I couldn't get out of the house, because they [police] had yellow tape everywhere."

Dave Barber couldn't even make it home after police cordoned off a huge swath of the neighbourhood. "I drove right into it about 11 o'clock," said Barber, a contractor who lives within sight of the murder scene. "They had everything blocked off from Renfrew to Slocan, from 4th to 1st. I had to stay at a neighbour's."

Barber shook his head at what's happened to the area since he moved in six years ago.

"We've had three shootings in this neighbourhood in three years -- it's part of living in Vancouver these days, I guess. You don't really expect it in your neighbourhood, but these days you don't bet against it.

"It's unbelievable -- there doesn't seem to be an end to it."

David Coccia gazed in dismay at the murder scene. "It's disturbing," said the 41-year-old longshoreman. "It's happening all over the Lower Mainland, but when it's this close . . . This neighbourhood, for the most part, is quiet -- to have something like this happen . . ."

Long-term resident Hazel, who was too fearful to give her last name, said she heard "four shots, then I saw two guys run down the street, dressed all in black, with black hoodies."

"We saw a car parked down the street with headlights on and hazard lights flashing.

"There were over 20 police -- they were everywhere. It was unbelievable. I went out to tell the cops where the kids ran, and they said, 'Get in the house!'

"The guns that those guys [cops] pulled out -- wow! I didn't know they carried those.

"There were cop cars everywhere -- they were on their hands and knees looking for shell casings."

"You can't go anywhere these days, even the shopping centre -- you don't know who's in these big cars. My neighbour doesn't even sleep nights because she's worried all the time."

 

[nicolewong]

Canada Most Dangerous Cities

The Canadian Press
March 5, 2009

A new MacLean’s Magazine study puts Metro Vancouver communities among the most dangerous in the country. Chilliwack, Prince George, Surrey, Vancouver and Victoria.

MacLean’s Magazine Vancouver Bureau Chief Ken MacQueen says these cities truly represent Canada's "Wild West" as the five make up half of Canada's top ten crime-ridden cities. "Not just crimes like murder or assault but property crimes, breaking-and-entering; we have a real plague of that, especially in British Columbia."

MacQueen says it all stems from one obvious factor. "When it comes to the larger problem of crime, murder, and mayhem on the West Coast, you've got to look at state of the society."

The findings are based on 2007 Statistics Canada numbers -- MacLean’s put Coquitlam at the top of the list for murders. Vancouver and Surrey came in at fifth and seventh respectively.

 

[imperialarms]

just hire some bodyguards. all life is risk

 

[neddy]

just hire some bodyguards. all life is risk

Canada should blame Mexico.
Mexico had several big successes in its drug fights leading to skyrocking cocaine prices in Vancouver and ignite a Gangland War.

 

[nicolewong]

Fight escalates into gunfire in Metro Vancouver

The Canadian Press
March 7, 2009

Police in Coquitlam, B.C., were investigating Saturday after gunshots were fired in a residential neighbourhood Friday night.

It appears two groups of men got into an argument in the 700 block of Farrow St. near Clarke Rd. in Coquitlam, the RCMP said in a news release.

One of the men grabbed a handgun from a car and fired between eight and 10 shots at the other group of men.

No one was injured, but a nearby resident told police a bullet came through his window and hit a wall inside his house.

The shooter left the scene with two other men in a dark SUV.

This is the 10th shooting in Metro Vancouver in 7 days.

 

[nicolewong]

Bullets fly in Metro Vancouver for 5th straight day

The Canadian Press
March 8, 2008

VANCOUVER, B.C. — Shootings in Metro Vancouver used to occur almost daily - now they are happening daily.

For the fifth straight day, shots rang out, this time in the suburban city Coquitlam, RCMP Cpl. Peter Thiessen said Saturday.

"It's just turning into one day after another that police in general in the Lower Mainland are responding at a significant level to these shootings," said Thiessen.

"It's not clear what the dispute was over."

He said some young men got into an argument near a restaurant Friday night and one man went to a vehicle, got a handgun and fired between eight and 12 shots at another group of young men.

He said one bullet went through the window of a neighbouring residence and lodged in a wall.

Nobody was injured in the home or from the shooting by the unidentified male.

The suspect and several other males fled in a dark-coloured SUV.

When police reached the scene, "everybody had fled from both sides and there was just a large number of shell casings remaining at the scene."

"Certainly it's another example of how quickly firearms are being utilized in these types of disputes involving young, 20-something men."

He expressed the concern that is likely foremost in the minds of many members of the public.

"How many 20-something young men are driving around with handguns in their vehicles for one purpose or another?"

There have been 31 shootings in the Metro Vancouver region in the past month.

Shots have been fired every day since Monday somewhere in Metro Vancouver.