Canada: Gun Violence, Shootings 'Unacceptable' in BC

[nicolewong]

Man shot on Kingsway

The Canadian Press
March 9, 2009

Vancouver police confirm shots were fired in the 2500-block Kingsway Avenue at around 2:30 this morning. Const. Jana McGuinness says the victim is in his 30's, but no other information is available and she expects it could be several hours before more details are released.

They found a man down on the sidewalk in front of a restaurant. Witnesses say the shooting occurred at a restaurant but the entire area is blocked off and police at the scene will only say the investigation is active.

Investigators had yet to interview the victim Monday morning, and McGuinness said it isn't clear whether he was shot inside or outside the restaurant.

Witnesses reported an SUV speeding from the scene, but that has not been confirmed by police.

Officers cordoned off Kingsway between Earles and Slocan streets but the road was reopened midway through the morning rush.

 

[nicolewong]

Two more dead after mid-morning south Vancouver shooting

The Canadian Press
March 10, 2009

Vancouver police are probing a double homicide after responding to an early morning call of shots fired near Knight Street and East 41st Avenue.

Police spokesman Const. Lindsey Houghton said police received calls of shots fired at 8:40 a.m., but did not disclose the cause of death of the two victims.

"We received many phone calls from the neighbourhood with respects to shots fired," he said.

"We've been to the address before in the past, but (for) nothing that would have any relation to this kind of violence," he said, declining to be more specific.

Investigators have not even been in the suite yet because the forensic staff has barely begun its work, he said.

The owner of the furniture store below the apartment where the homicides occurred said he was mystified.

Jay Su, operator of Jay's New & Used Furniture, said there were three apartments above his store. The tenants were quiet.

He said he was at his store until 11 pm last night, but heard nothing.

En route into work today, he said a staffer called to tell him police had arrived and cordoned off the building on the corner of E. 41st and Knight Street, also occupied by a Money Mart outlet.

Officers told him it would be Wednesday at the earliest before he got back into his store.

He shook his head at the possibility the incident may be gang related, the latest in a series of incidents across the region.

"It's a little bit scary," he said

 

[nicolewong]

 

[nicolewong]

Woman gunned down in Langley

The Canadian Press
March 14, 2009

A 36-year-old woman was shot dead on the side of the road in a quiet Langley neighbourhood early Saturday morning.

Police responded after residents told police they heard a number of shots and a vehicle driving away from the area of 50th Avenue and 202 A Street at about 5 a.m.

Police did not release the woman’s name Saturday, as they attempt to contact next of kin. But Carr said she is from the Langley and Surrey area.

He said police dogs, search and rescue teams and forensic specialists helped comb the crime scene. Police are going door to door interviewing neighbours.

There have been unconfirmed reports that a vehicle or vehicles left the area after the incident, he said.

Langley mayor Peter Fassbender, who visited the neighbourhood Saturday morning, said residents are upset and worried.

“It is a typical street in a quiet community where you would never expect something like this to happen,” he said.

Just 12 hours before the Langley incident, another residential neighbourhood was rocked by gunfire. That shooting, which happened around 5:30 p.m. Friday in the area of 127A Street and 67 Avenue in Surrey, left a man in his mid 20s dead.

At the time of the shooting, witnesses reported seeing a white coloured mid-size vehicle, possibly a Honda or Acura, speeding away from the area, police say.

Anyone with information on that incident is asked to contact Surrey RCMP at (604)599-0502 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

 

[nicolewong]

Metro Vancouver faced violent weekend

The Canadian Press
March 15, 2009

VANCOUVER — Murder and mayhem rocked Metro Vancouver over the weekend following two separate shootings and a string of other crimes.

In less than 18 hours, there was one dead and one injured in the two shooting incidents, a cab driver stabbed and a woman kidnapped at gunpoint.

Metro Vancouver's latest shooting victim was a 36-year-old woman from the Langley and Surrey area. She was gunned down in a Langley neighbourhood Saturday morning.

A patrol car responded to 911 calls of multiple shots fired around 5 a.m. local time. There, officers found the woman's body lying on the side of the road in a quaint and typically quiet area.

Carr didn't know the how many shots were fired or if stray bullets hit surrounding homes or vehicles.

There have been 36 shootings across the Lower Mainland in the past weeks that have left 26 dead and an additional 17 wounded.

The attacks have taken place in residential neighbourhoods and public areas — including brazen daylight shootings at intersections and in commercial parking lots.

Langley Mayor Peter Fassbender was frustrated to wake up Saturday to news that a woman was shot dead in his city.

"Like everyone, I'm very concerned whenever there's any incident like this anywhere in the Lower Mainland. But when it's in your own backyard, it's even more impactful," he said.

Fassbender said it underlined the need for tougher sentencing on gun-related crime and the need to give police more investigative tools, such as changing wiretap laws.

"We need to do a lot more on education with young people, that this kind of lifestyle is a road to nowhere," he said.

The shooting was the second shooting in the Lower Mainland in less than 12 hours. A man in his 20s was shot in the back in a Surrey residential area Friday evening.

RCMP were called to the scene around 5:30 p.m. to find a man with several gunshot wounds lying on the road.

No suspects have been identified.

The third gun-related attack involved a woman forced into a car at gunpoint Saturday morning.

Just before 11 a.m., a bystander saw a man force the woman into a SUV in East Vancouver. Police pursued the car to Port Coquitlam, and the woman was eventually rescued uninjured and a man arrested. A loaded handgun was also seized from the car.

Police say the incident may have been domestic.

Meanwhile, a Chilliwack cab driver is recovering in hospital after being stabbed by a customer Saturday.

The driver was called to pick up a fare around 3:30 a.m. when a man jumped in, demanding cash.

The driver was stabbed but managed to escape the car. The attacker fled with the cab, abandoning it two blocks later.

The driver was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The culprit is described as an aboriginal male with a stocky build and a goatee who was wearing a black hat and dark clothing.

An investigation is also ongoing into a bar fight Friday night in Vancouver that has left a 62-year-old man in hospital with a serious head injury.

A 25-year-old man was arrested following a fight at the Fountain Head Pub just after 8 p.m. Friday.

Witnesses reported that the two were arguing before the younger man allegedly punched the older man in the face.

The attack caused the older man to hit his head on the ground. He is in hospital listed in grave condition.

 

[nicolewong]

Gun violence this weekend: three shootings in two days

The Canadian Press
March 15, 2009

METRO VANCOUVER - An early morning shooting in Burnaby that sent a 29-year-old man to hospital was the latest in a string of three incidents that kept police busy all weekend.

Burnaby police are looking for a silver-coloured vehicle in connection to the shooting after witnesses reported that the car sped from the scene.

At about 3:15 a.m. Sunday, the man walked into a Shell station at Patterson and Kingsway, bleeding from his chest.

The incident occurred at his home in the 4200-block of Grange St.

Meanwhile, at about 5:30 p.m. Friday, police were called to a shooting incident the area of 127A Street and 67 Avenue in Surrey, where a man in his mid-20s was injured after a shooting.

Just 12 hours later in Langley, Saturday morning, the body of a 36-year-old woman was found on the side of the road.

Cpl. Dale Carr of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, said the shooting took place at 202A Street and 50th Avenue in Langley around 5 a.m. Saturday.

RCMP have identified the victim as Laura Lynn Lamoureux, 36.

Police are asking anyone who may have witnessed anything suspicious in the 4200 block Grange Street around 3 a.m. to call the Burnaby RCMP at 603-294-7922 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

 

[nicolewong]

Man shot dead in park

The Canadian Press
March 19, 2009

A man was found shot dead Thursday morning in a park bordering the Vancouver suburbs of Surrey and Langley.

Police have not released the victim's name but said he was a 33-year-old from Langley.

The body was found sprawled under a beige minivan at about 6 a.m. in the parking lot of Hi-Knoll Park — off Colebrook Road near 50 Avenue on the Surrey side of the municipal boundary, RCMP Cpl. Dale Carr of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said.

Several nearby residents told police they heard at least eight shots fired at about 3 a.m.

Police dogs were used to search the nearby woods, trying to pick up a scent or lead their handlers to some evidence.

Hi-Knoll is a quiet wilderness park tucked away in a residential area usually used by people taking their dogs for a walk.

 

[nicolewong]

Everyday someone get shot in Canada, this time 6 person got shot...

Six shot at Toronto house party

The Canadian Press
May 10, 2009

TORONTO — Six people were shot at a house party in west-end Toronto early Sunday and police said they're seeking multiple suspects.

Police were called to the scene around 3 a.m. and found two victims suffering from gunshot wounds.

The other four victims in the shooting later turned up in hospital. Of the six victims, one has been released and three remain in critical condition.

Detective Lester Wright wouldn't say whether police believed the shooting might be connected to other violent crimes in the city recently.

“At this point it's too early in the investigation to comment on whether it's retaliation or anything else,” he said.

“We're not going to discount anything, but we are looking into all aspects of how we (had) six victims at the hospital.”

Police said the investigation is already coming along well but urged people in the densely populated neighbourhood to come forward with any information they have.

“We are making progress but with the public's help we'll move along a lot faster,” Det. Wright said.

“They can tell us information we can't get through any other means ... however minor an incident they feel that they witnessed, we'd like them to come forward.”

No descriptions of the suspects have been released and police wouldn't say if they attempted to mask their identities.

 

[nicolewong]

There is at least one shooting a day in Vancouver but this shooting stands out and worth posting...

Shooting victim may be innocent bystander

The Canadian Press
May 18, 2009

METRO VANCOUVER - One of the two men shot in a Surrey night club may have been an innocent bystander who had the bad luck to be in the bar's washroom when an attacker burst in and opened fire.

RCMP say the shooting left one man dead, and another critically injured and the attacker walked straight through the crowded club and began firing only after entering the washroom of the night club in Surrey.

Shots were heard around 11 p.m. on Saturday. Immediately after the shooting, a man who appeared to be in his 20s, wearing dark clothing including a dark hooded jacket, fled through the club's rear door into an alley, and then ran off to the northeast. Most of the bar's patrons also fled, probably fearing for their safety, police said.

With one of the victims dead, the other too gravely injured to talk, police are still trying to piece together the motive for the attack. The dead man is a 34-year-old from Surrey and the injured man is 28.

The night club was cordoned off yesterday morning, although two motorcycles were still parked by the side of the club, draped in yellow tape marking the perimeter of the crime scene. A helmet and leather gloves were stacked neatly on the seat of one of the machines.

 

[nicolewong]

Another bystander shooting :(


Five-year-old girl shot by stray bullet

The Canadian Press
May 22, 2009

A five-year-old girl, tucked inside the safety of her apartment, was felled last night by a stray bullet fired from outside in a west-end neighbourhood plagued by gun violence.

Toronto Police say the toddler was in her home in a highrise at 5 Bellevue Cres. -- just south of Weston Rd. and Lawrence Ave. W. -- around 7:45 p.m. when shots rang out and a bullet sailed through the screen door of the ground-floor apartment.

"She's been stabilized," Staff-Sgt. Chuck Konkel said last night of the youngster, who was rushed to Sick Kids hospital.

A police source said the girl's mom was in shock after finding her little girl bleeding from a gunshot wound to her back and scooped up the tot and drove her to nearby Humber hospital.

"She was distraught," Konkel said of the parent's decision to take the child to hospital rather than wait for an ambulance.

Toronto EMS said the child, whose name was not released, was taken by an emergency run to Sick Kids hospital.

The wounded girl appeared to be conscious as she was whisked by paramedics into Sick Kids with several stunned family members arriving at the hospital just steps behind her.

Her injuries were later deemed not to be life-threatening, police said.

In the last two months, six young men have been gunned down in the Jane St. and Eglinton Ave. W. area, which is just a few blocks south of the injured little girl's building.

Anyone with information on last night's shooting is urged to call 12 Division at 416-808-1201, or Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS.