EMOTIONS ‘VERY RAW’
Slain teen’s family speaks publicly
The older brother of an innocent teen struck during a gangland shootout earlier this month described the anguish of his devastated family Monday as Vancouver police Chief Adam Palmer said progress is being made in the hunt for the suspects.
Wilfred Wong said the death of his 15-year-old brother Alfred has left a void in the hearts of his parents and himself.
“Everything is still very raw right now,” Wong told a news conference organized by Vancouver police. “We are also in shock that something like this could happen to us.”
Alfred and his parents had just finished dinner with Wilfred on Jan. 13 and were driving home to Coquitlam, along Broadway, when Alfred was struck by a stray bullet from a gunfight on the busy street.
He died two days later in hospital. One of the gunmen, Kevin Whiteside, was also killed.
Wilfred Wong thanked his family’s church, Vancouver police, hospital staff “and everyone else who has been supportive of us through these difficult times.”
“In particular, we would like to thank the officers that were with us for those two nights (and) doctors and nurses from the emergency and ICU. Everyone gave their best and we are very thankful for that,” he said. “The 15 years we had with Alfred was far too short. But we know that Alfred is now in heaven with God. My parents and I will always love him dearly.”
Pastor Caleb Choi said “Alfred was a bright young man” who was an honours student at Pinetree Secondary and was determined to be an electrical engineer.
“Outside of school, he participated in martial arts, basketball and swimming. He was hoping to become a lifeguard and had already completed many of the requirements,” he said.
“Alfred was preparing to join a leadership camp so that he could gain experience and help the community through volunteering.”
He also loved playing video games with his friends and travelling the world with his family, he said.
“While he was taken from us much, much too soon, he lived his 15 years to their fullest extent. You know that he is now with God in a better place,” Choi said.
Alfred’s funeral will be held on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at Coquitlam Alliance Church, 2601 Spuraway Ave. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations to two scholarships established in Alfred’s name, one for the school district and the second for his swim club.
Palmer praised Wilfred for talking to reporters so soon after losing his brother.
“I admire your courage for standing up here, ” Palmer said. “I know that Alfred was not only a good student and good athlete, but he was a good son and a loving brother.”
Palmer said “Alfred’s senseless murder has rocked our community. It has had an impact on the citizens of Vancouver, people throughout Metro Van, and on our police department.”
Investigators are making progress in the case and have heard from more witnesses after setting up a mobile command centre on Saturday night at the spot where the shooting took place a week earlier.
Officers have also reviewed surveillance video from businesses in the area, as well as dash-cam video provided by members of the public, Palmer said.
“We have a very good idea of what happened that night,” he said. “We do not have significant evidence to lay charges.”
He also said investigators now know whether Alfred was struck by a bullet from Whiteside’s gun or from the firearm of another suspect.
“I know the answer to that question as to who fired the bullet, but I am not prepared to share that with you right now. We are treating that as holdback evidence,” he said.
So far, police have not identified the other suspects involved in the shooting.
The gang violence raging across the Lower Mainland is the worst that the province has seen in a decade, Palmer said. He said conflicts between rival groups involved in the drug trade are as bad as they were when the Bacon brothers and their fellow Red Scorpions were battling the United Nations gang on the streets of the Lower Mainland in 2008 and 2009.
“This cycle that we are going through right now is significant. We haven’t seen violence like this in probably the last 10 years,” Palmer said.
“We do have several groups that are out there hunting one another down and killing each other, and it always revolves around drugs.”