15-year-old hit in shootout dies
Police chief vows to do ‘whatever it takes’ to find justice for bystander
More than 50 Vancouver police officers are hunting for a suspect after a teen bystander died following a gang shootout that also killed one of the shooters.
VPD Chief Adam Palmer said Monday he is heartbroken that a 15-year-old Coquitlam boy was killed after being struck by a bullet while riding in his parents’ car.
“Every time criminals decide to exchange gunfire on our streets, they endanger the lives of everybody around them,” Palmer said. “The events of Saturday night were reckless, reprehensible and there is no justification for this type of senseless violence in our city.”
The boy had been on life-support since Saturday.
Palmer said the boy and his family were on their way back to Coquitlam, eastbound on Broadway near Ontario Street when the shootout began about 9 p.m.
“My heart goes out to the family of the 15-year-old boy. They were having a normal Saturday night evening out with family and now they are grieving for their son,” Palmer said.
“My message to the family is this: We will not ever be able to fully comprehend your grief, but the Vancouver Police Department will do whatever it takes to seek justice for your son.”
Melody Li Grey, whose mother taught the boy in Sunday school at the Coquitlam Alliance Church, said the family took their son off life-support Monday morning because the damage to his internal organs from the bullet was too severe.
She said she understood he was hit in his heart, ribs, lungs and kidneys.
“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.”
The police believe video may have been shot during the shooting and are hoping anyone with footage will come forward.
In a statement, 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.”
Horgan said the violence is unacceptable.
“We understand the Vancouver police are pulling together all available resources to catch those responsible. Vancouver police are getting all necessary support from the province through the anti-gang unit, CFSEU-BC. British Columbians are encouraged to assist the police. If you know anything about this shooting or witnessed anything that could help, please contact them.”
Peter Chevrier of the Coquitlam school district said their critical response team has been providing support to staff and students.
“It is with heavy hearts and sincere condolences to the family that we confirm that it was a student from School District 43 who passed away,” Chevrier said in a statement. “To respect the family’s privacy during this difficult and traumatic time in their lives, we are not releasing the name of the student or the school the student attended.”
Rob Gordon, a criminology professor at Simon Fraser University, called the shooting “dreadful, absolutely dreadful.”
But he said it’s also not something that can necessarily be prevented.
“It could happen to any of us,” he said. “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,” he added, “but really there isn’t one. The cause of the conflict lies in the illegal drug trade. … We’re making some progress in this area,” he said, pointing to the looming legalization of marijuana.
One of the shooters, Vancouver drug trafficker Kevin Whiteside, was injured and later died in hospital.
Whiteside, 23, has 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 30-day jail sentence.
In 2015, he was convicted with a co-accused of breaking and entering a Delta home, and 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 that Whiteside was a fairly low-level drug trafficker who sold his product in the Downtown Eastside.
Palmer said investigators know there was at least one other shooter involved in Saturday’s violence, but there could be more.
So far, the VPD can’t say if the boy was hit by Whiteside’s bullet or by a gunshot from another shooter.
“We have dedicated immense resources to this investigation and we will we conduct a meticulous investigation to make sure we build the strongest case possible against those involved,” he said.
Palmer said the last bystander killed in a shooting in Vancouver was when Good Samaritan Rachel Davis was shot in 2004 outside the Purple Onion nightclub as she tried to help a man injured in a fight.
Imran Sharif was found guilty of killing her and Richard Hui in 2006 and sentenced to life in prison.
“I still think that Vancouver is a safe city and this is an anomaly in the sense that it’s been many, many years since we have had a shooting like this in Vancouver where an innocent person has been hit,” Palmer said. “Vancouver is still a safe place to go about day-to-day life.”