Police hunt killer after double murder in east Vancouver
Two men found shot in east Vancouver duplex home early Tuesday morning
Vancouver police are searching for a grey minivan after two men were shot and killed inside an east Vancouver residence shortly after midnight Tuesday.
Police did not have a suspect as of Tuesday afternoon, but they do not think it was a random shooting.
They are searching for a grey 2005 Dodge Caravan minivan with the licence plate 175 LXR as a vehicle of interest in the city’s sixth and seventh murders of 2020.
“We are asking anyone who comes across this vehicle to immediately call 911,” Sgt. Aaron Roed said. “Please do not approach the vehicle or its occupants, as it is related to the two most recent homicides in Vancouver. … Any information on the vehicle’s whereabouts will assist the investigation.”
Neighbours of the house at 1768 East 11th Ave. phoned 911 shortly before 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday. The two men were declared dead by paramedics.
“There’s never a situation where someone has to lose their life where it’s taken lightly,” Roed said. “There’s family and friends that are going to have to deal with this.
“We’re gathering the evidence as to why (the two men) were there and what kind of connection they have to the residence.”
The property, half of a duplex adjoining 1772 East 11th Ave., is owned by Judy Fung and Jimmy Fung of East Vancouver.
No one responded to a knock on the door at the Kensington-Cedar Cottage street address listed for the owners’ by B.C. Assessment.
Assessed at $1.59 million, 1768 East 11th Ave. was purchased by the current owners in 1980 for $114,000.
Police remained at the scene Tuesday, with a forensic evidence team returning around noon. The names of the two victims were not released.
“We’re not releasing any information regarding the victims,” Roed said. “We do need to contact family, who are going to have to deal with this situation. We would like to speak with them and gather as much evidence (as we can) before we release the information on the victims.”
The suspected murders early Tuesday were the second and third since July 1.
Vancouver resident Daniel Haydon, 49, was stabbed on Canada Day at Hastings Street and Hawks Avenue, and died on July 3; police arrested 52-year-old Luis Maulen of Vancouver and charged him with second-degree murder.
The “Vancouver special” in which the shootings occurred sits near the Broadway-Commercial SkyTrain station. There’s an addiction treatment centre directly across the street, and a community garden two lots to the west of that.
None of the handful of people who passed by the police yellow tape that cordoned off the street and the back lane behind the crime scene said they heard any shots or knew who lived in the house.
Roed asked that anybody who has any information call the homicide unit at 604-7172500, or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-2228477. Police are also asking anyone with surveillance video along the 1700-block of East 11th Avenue or nearby from dashcam footage or home security cameras to contact them.