Teen killed in crossfire was ‘loyal, smart’

Shot while riding in parents’ car in Vancouver

An innocent 15- year- old boy who died after he was caught in the crossfire of a gang shootout has been named as Alfred Wong.

Wong is believed to have been hit in the heart, ribs, lungs and kidneys while riding in his parents car in Vancouver on Saturday night.

The family is “stunned, saddened and exhausted,” Pastor Caleb Choi, of Coquitlam Christ Church of China, told Global News. He said the boy and his family were members of his congregation.

The incident is the latest fatality of an ongoing turf war between drug- dealing gangs in Metro Vancouver.

In a story last August, the Vancouver Sun said police were warning the public to steer clear of five young men who had been targeted by rival drug gangs because of the fear of innocent people being caught in the crossfire.

That fear came true on Saturday when Wong, who is believed to have been in a program for gifted students, was shot.

CBC r e ported t hat a friend, identified as Kevin, posted a goodbye on the social media site Reddit.

“My friend was a strong, smart and loyal person. If you took a glance or had a quick conversation with him, you would instantly be able to tell he’d been disciplined well. He was very trustworthy, and would always be on time when it mattered, but he was also very soft spoken,” wrote Kevin.

“I loved him as a friend, not because of his achievements, but because of his personality himself.”

The CBC reported that friends who attended Pinetree Secondary School in Coquitlam with Wong expressed grief and loss outside school.

Melody Li Grey, whose mother taught the young boy in a Sunday school program, said the family took their son off life support Monday morning because the damage caused to his internal organs by the bullet was too severe.

“This poor family needs as much community support as possible now,” she said. “And of course this incident has put gun control and gang violence at the forefront again.”

More than 50 Vancouver police officers are hunting for the suspect who killed Wong, injured an innocent 30-year-old man and left another man, believed to be the intended target in the shooting, dead.

Vancouver police chief Adam Palmer said the boy and his family were on their way back to Coquitlam when the shootout began about 9 p.m.

One of the shooters, Vancouver drug trafficker Kevin Whiteside, was injured and later died in hospital.

Whiteside, 23, had a record for crimes in Vancouver, Burnaby and Delta, dating back to 2013.

In 2016, he was sentenced to 11 months in jail for assault with weapon. He was also handed a lifetime firearms ban.

In 2014, he was convicted of possession for the purpose of trafficking and got a 30day jail sentence.

In 2015, he was convicted of breaking and entering a Delta home, as well as possession of a firearm.

Also in 2015, he was convicted of possessing a firearm contrary to an earlier court order and was sentenced to three months.

Sources say Whiteside was a fairly low- level drug trafficker who sold his product in the Downtown Eastside.

Kyra Clark, Whiteside’s mother, said in a statement issued to CBC through a friend, “Kevin was a young man with an enormous heart, he loved his family he loved his friends. He would give you his last $ 20 if you needed it.

“A true kind soul to friends always there for them, he would give you his shirt off his back if you asked. He was kind and funny and always one you could count on.”

She added, “We are a good family who also cannot comprehend this type of activity.”

In a statement Monday, Premier John Horgan said: “It is a terrible tragedy for an innocent boy to be caught up in this violence. Our hearts go out to his family and friends.”

In July last year, B.C.’s new solicitor general, Mike Farnworth, said he would review the province’s anti-gang programs to see if changes were needed to more effectively battle brazen gun violence.

Speaking after several shootings weeks earlier in Surrey, Abbotsford and Vancouver, he said, “It is a critical issue in the Lower Mainland and at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter where you are ... you deserve to feel safe in your home. People deserve to be safe and feel safe in their communities.”

Rob Gordon, a criminology professor at Simon Fraser University, told the Vancouver Sun, “It could happen to any of us. What happened ( Saturday), I think is fairly unprecedented: a running exchange of gunfire as opposed to someone coming up to someone in a parking lot.

“People are always after the cure, the remedy, but really there isn’t one. The cause of the conflict lies in the illegal drug trade.”