Police closing net on gunmen in 2008 double homicide
The gunmen who stormed a private party at a northeast Calgary restaurant and killed two people at the height of city’s gang war in 2008 had help from an accomplice inside.
The revelation on Tuesday of how the shooters were able to carry out the crime is the latest in a series of signs investigators are gaining momentum in their search for the killers of Tina Kong and Kevin Ses.
Kong and Ses were among 16 patrons and staff members inside the Food In East restaurant, which had closed its doors early on the morning of Oct. 26, 2008.
Just before 4 a.m., witnesses inside the restaurant told police a man opened a locked door for two masked men armed with handguns, who headed straight to the table where Kong and Ses were seated and shot them several times.
Two other patrons were wounded when the attackers opened fire, but investigators said the killers’ actions demonstrate someone tipped them off about Kong and Ses being at the restaurant and where they would be siting.
“This was a targeted attack,” said Staff Sgt. Doug Andrus of the homicide unit.
The killings of Kong and Ses, who were both 21, are part of a long-running war between FOB and FOB Killers (FK) that was responsible for at least 25 Calgary-area homicides between 2002 and 2009.
Neither victim was a gang member, but Ses knew people in the FK gang — including Mark Kim, who was killed Dec. 31, 2007.
Calgary Crime Stoppers filmed a re-enactment of the restaurant shootings on Thursday in an effort to generate more tips from the public.
It’s the second time in recent days police have turned to the public for more information about the case.
Last week, police released four-year-old surveillance footage of two men in a convenience store near the restaurant, which used to be in a strip mall at 4100 Marlborough Dr. N.E.
Andrus said investigators have since found out who the men are, but he declined to say how they may be connected to the two gunmen.
“They have been identified and investigators are endeavouring to locate them,” he said.
Investigators have also released descriptions of the gunmen, the accomplice inside the restaurant and their getaway vehicle.
The shooters are believed to be Caucasian men in their 20s: one is five foot seven and approximately 160 pounds; the other is six feet tall and ap- proximately 160 pounds.
Investigators believe the man who let them into the restaurant is an Asian man in his 20s, about five foot nine and 165 pounds.
The gunmen left the restaurant on foot and headed west toward Marlborough Way, where they got into a dark, two-door sedan and drove north.
The developments in the double homicide follow progress in another homicide connected to the gang war.
Earlier this month, police released images of a car believed to be involved in the shooting death of Kevin Anaya, whom sources said was targeted by FOB.
Two gunmen shot Anaya, 21, as he got out of his vehicle in front of a friend’s house on Marcombe Drive N.E. on Aug. 9, 2008.
Investigators in the Anaya case are seeking a black, fourdoor Acura sedan.