SHOOTING SPREE
‘THIS HAS TO STOP,’ SAYS SURREY MAYOR
Police and Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner expressed condolences Monday to the family of murder victim Arun Bains while assuring the public there’s a plan to deal with rampant gun violence.
Bains, the nephew of Surrey-Newton MLA Harry Bains, was gunned down just before 3 a.m. Sunday near 88th Avenue and 126th Street.
The 22-year-old’s death is believed to be linked to a violent clash between young drug dealers and a series of earlier shootings in recent weeks.
Hepner told a Surrey news conference at RCMP headquarters that the violence must end.
“This has to stop before any more lives are lost,” she said.
She urged those involved to take a “sober look” at their actions.
“What happened (Sunday) is a fate that can befall you,” she said.
RCMP Assistant Commissioner Dan Malo said police have a plan to deal with the violence, including a new tip line, more community outreach and meeting with those involved as well as their associates, friends and family.
Malo said similar strategies have worked in the past in places such as Abbotsford and Kelowna when gang violence spiked in those communities.
Chief Supt. Bill Fordy, who is in charge of the Surrey RCMP, said police have organized a community meeting Tuesday evening at Tamanawis Secondary to discuss public concerns about the violence. Police have also set up a tip line for members of the public.
Malo said some of the 22 shootings in Surrey and North Delta over six weeks are linked to a specific conflict between the two groups of young traffickers fighting for turf.
“What is going on in this conflict is very complex,” Malo said.
He said there are also several investigative strategies in play, though he wouldn’t disclose them publicly.
Malo said that while he understands the public’s concern over the shootings, people shouldn’t be living in fear.
“They are concentrating on each other. They are not concentrating on the larger community,” he said of those involved.
Malo urged people with information about the shootings to call the new tip line at 604-915-6566.