Violent gun attacks have been common in Metro Vancouver recently, Global News reports. In the most blatant shooting to date outside the main terminal at Vancouver Airport on Sunday afternoon, the 28-year-old man who died was a familiar figure to police, who confirmed the shooting was gang-related. No arrests have been made and police are looking for at least two suspects.
At 9 p.m. Sunday (May 9), Richmond RCMP and the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) held a press conference at the scene of the crime to release more details of the shooting.
IHIT spokesman Frank Jang said the crime occurred between 3:00 and 3:25 p.m. Sunday, a 28-year-old police familiar man was shot and fell to the ground, the man eventually died of his injuries. Police responded quickly after the shooting, immediately closing major roads in and out of Richmond, and suspending service on the Richmond section of the SkyTrain Canada Line (SkyTrain Canada Line) to prevent the suspect from escaping.
The suspect exchanged gunfire with police for a time, but eventually managed to escape and flee the scene.
Source: The suspect exchanged gunfire with police during his escape, and bullets broke the front windshield of a Richmond RCMP police car.
Richmond RCMP Sergeant Will Ng said no officers were injured and no arrests have been made.
An officer stopped the suspect’s SUV near Sea Island Way and 3rd Road as he was fleeing, and one of the suspects fired at him.
Photo Credit: Karman Singh Grewal was shot and killed outside Vancouver International Airport on Sunday. At least two people are believed to be in the suspect’s car and perhaps more, all at large.
Frank Jang noted that the suspects fled the scene in an SUV either by way of Highway 91, 99, or via the Alex Fraser Bridge, with at least two suspects in the vehicle and more accomplices not ruled out.
He appealed to the public to call 877-551-4448 or contact the RCMP if they were driving through the above locations during the time of the crime and if their car recorders caught anything suspicious.
Frank Jang said the suspect’s blatant disruption of community safety, including shooting at police officers during Mother’s Day in public, poses a threat to public safety and shows that gang members have no qualms about committing acts of violence in public places and ignore threats to community safety.
IHIT spokesman Frank Jang and Sergeant Will Ng were dismayed by the recent spate of gang-related gun violence in densely populated public places.
The shooting occurred between 3 p.m. and 3:25 p.m. Sunday as two RCMP officers ran toward the main terminal from different directions. Footage circulating on social media platforms shows a man lying down outside the domestic departures terminal in front of the domestic and international departures signs, while another person and officers tend to the wounded man, who had two bullet casings beside him, who police confirmed died of his injuries.
The suspect, who may have been more than one person, fled the scene in a Honda Honda Pilot and shot at police as he fled. Later, around 3:30 p.m., police found a burned-out Honda Honda Pilot in the 9700 block of Princess Drive in the Royal Heights neighbourhood of Surrey, not ruling out that it was the vehicle the suspect was driving when he committed the crime.
Photo credit: RCMP spokesperson Dawn Roberts said it was too early to link the burnt-out Pilot to the airport shooting.
Richmond RCMP spokesman Dawn Roberts said the case is still under investigation and no arrests have been made. It is unclear exactly how many suspects and injured people are involved and whether the threat continues. At this point, it is not certain whether the case is linked to the earlier multiple shootings in the Lower Mainland, but gang activity is not ruled out, and police need to gather more evidence.
A witness, who asked not to be named for security reasons, said several people dressed in black were seen outside the domestic departure terminal, two of whom fired more than a dozen shots.
Police set up multiple orange cone barrels to mark clues and a yellow police cordon outside the airport’s main terminal, where a white Mercedes-Benz car with its doors open was parked on the outside of the cordon and an area of the sidewalk was covered by a blue tent.
After the shooting, all major routes in and out of Richmond were temporarily closed, including the SkyTrain Canada Line, the Knight St. Bridge, the Oak St. Bridge, the Alex Fraser Bridge The bridge will be closed to traffic until 4:00 p.m. Sunday. Traffic was not restored until about 4 p.m. Sunday.
Following the shooting, Vancouver International Airport (YVR) posted a brief statement on social media Twitter saying that the incident occurred outside the main terminal and that it was cooperating with police in their investigation. The airport has reopened under security control and flights are taking off and landing normally.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) said on Twitter that a police presence has been deployed at Vancouver Airport and that there will be further media coverage later in the evening.
A person claiming to be a friend of an airport employee posted photos of the scene of the shooting on Twitter, showing a bullet hitting the suspected domestic drop-off area above the glass on the outer wall, shattering the entire glass. This information is still being verified.
Some people also said that the recent month of shootings have occurred in public places such as shopping malls, and now even the airport is not immune to gang fights and whether they will hurt innocent people, Vancouver’s security has been very disturbing.
And the suspects escaped under the police’s nose?
The gang warfare is so blatant, all over the city of Vancouver, and shootings are becoming more and more frequent during the day, many in busy downtown areas and large shopping malls. Although all gangs see a target to attack, but the bullet does not grow eyes, it is difficult to ensure that no innocent people will be injured.
In recent weeks, there have been a number of targeted gang-related shootings in the Lower Mainland. In the past two weeks alone, there have been at least six shootings that have left four people dead. And some gang sources have revealed that some sensitive meetings are sometimes scheduled at the airport because of its higher security.
On May 8, one person was taken to hospital and died of his injuries after gunshots were heard near 13th Avenue at 6th Street in Burnaby.
On Monday, May 3, at 3:30 p.m., a man was taken to hospital in critical condition after a shooting at the Willowbrook Shopping Centre in Langley.
A 29-year-old man died in a shooting in the parking lot outside the Walmart at the Scottsdale Centre Mall at 72nd Ave. and 120th St. in Delta at about 4:55 p.m. Saturday, May 1, in what police believe was a targeted shooting.
On Sunday, May 2, a 25-year-old woman was injured in a shooting in Burnaby at about 4:10 a.m. Police initially believe the case was targeted and arrested a suspect about 3 1/2 hours after the incident.
On Friday, April 30 at 1:30 p.m., a 19-year-old boy was shot in Surrey and taken to hospital, where he died after being resuscitated.
With the recent spate of shootings in public places in the Lower Mainland, experts with years of experience investigating gang activity say they have not seen gang conflict rise to this level in the past few decades. Rob Gordon, a professor of criminology at Simon Fraser University (SFU), suspects that the shootings indicate a decline in gang control.
He said with concern that he has never seen gang conflict to the extent that it is now, with the shooter firing at will once he finds his target, with no regard for his surroundings, and the situation has gotten ridiculously out of hand. He also pointed out that after this shooting incident, there will be more violent retaliation.
Professor Gordon pointed out that the police had repeatedly said before that the shooting was a targeted attack and did not pose a threat to the public, a statement that was not accurate. He pointed out that as the number of shootings increases, so does the risk of stray bullets and accidental injuries, and that involving innocent members of the public is the greatest threat of all. The frequency of shootings can also lead to a lack of confidence in the justice system. He mentioned that, in the face of a series of shooting cases, if the police are not able to deal with, the courts can not be sanctioned, will increase the public’s fear, but also lead to gang members more rampant crime.
Recent Comments