Gangland slaying a shock
U. S. team inside hotel when man murdered
Members of the U. S. women’s soccer team expressed shock over Tuesday’s gangland murder that occurred inside their Vancouver hotel, but do not feel their safety is at risk.
That’s at least according to four members of the team made available to the media Wednesday afternoon, less than 24 hours after high- profile gangster Sandip Duhre was gunned down while sitting inside Cafe One at the Wall Centre in downtown Vancouver, where the U. S. team is staying.
“I think all of us were a bit scared,” said U. S. star goalkeeper Hope Solo, adding “We all travel all around the world, big cities, small cities and, you know, I think it’s a normal thing that crime happens.”
None of the American players, coaches or staff — all in town for the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament that begins today at BC Place Stadium — witnessed the shooting and none were hurt.
Tuesday night, shortly after the shooting occurred, Solo took to Twitter (@ hopesolo) to notify people of what happened. “Saved by our instant yoga session. Was about to walk to starbucks when all hell broke loose in the lobby of our hotel! Life is precious,” she tweeted.
U. S. forward Alex Morgan, who is visiting Vancouver for the first time, said the murder was “unexpected,” but that the team was safely away from where it took place.
“We weren’t in the lobby, we were all together upstairs so we had nothing to do with that,” she said. “It was a little scary at first. I’ve never been so close to a shooting even though we were upstairs. But ... the situation was handled very well.”
Reporters were curious to know how this might affect the team as it begins the tournament Friday against the Dominican Republic.
Surrey’s Sydney Leroux, a dual citizen who is playing for the American side in Vancouver, actually spoke to her teammates, reassuring them the area is generally safe, compared with some areas of the U. S.
Her mates didn’t seemed fazed at a Wednesday morning training session. “We realize we’re safe now and try to move on from that,” said midfielder Megan Rapinoe.