| InvisibleSoul | 12-16-2010 04:27 PM |
Update... Quote:
Vancouver police said Tuesday that eight of the 10 victims in Sunday's Oak Street shooting remain in hospital.
According to a police news release, six men and two women are being treated for various injuries related to gunshot wounds.
Police have already completed a thorough search and canvass of the neighbourhood around the shooting looking for witnesses and any discarded evidence.
The VPD Forensic Identification Unit will be back at the scene again today collecting evidence.
The VPD's Victim Services Unit has also canvassed the neighborhood, going door to door in an effort to provide assistance to anyone who might need support or was affected by the shooting. Those outreach efforts will continue today, police say.
So far, no arrests have been made in connection with the shooting.
Some of those wounded in the unprecedented gangland shooting are believed to have information about the execution of a notorious gangster at Metrotown in October.
Among the shooting victims are three gangsters with convictions for drug trafficking and violence; one was charged in Burnaby last month with 27 firearms offences.
Vancouver police confirmed at a news conference Monday that the shooting had some link to the Oct. 16 slaying of Gurmit Dhak in broad daylight at the busy Burnaby Metrotown mall complex.
“We had a little bit of a lull but there is always tension beneath the surface and the latest outbreak is connected to the targeted hit of Gurmit Singh Dhak,” Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu told reporters.
But Vancouver investigators did not elaborate on how the shooting of 10 gangsters and associates outside an Oak Street restaurant early Sunday related to the earlier hit, which remains under investigation.
The Vancouver Sun has learned that the invitation-only birthday party was for 29-year-old Darren Cunningham, who was injured in the shooting.
Cunningham has a 2001 conviction for drug trafficking in Vancouver, and two other convictions for driving infractions.
He also has a loan for a 2006 Ford 350 truck like the one riddled with bullets outside the restaurant Sunday.
Also among the injured partygoers were gangsters Damion Ryan and Paul Araki, close associates of a man shot in Richmond on Oct. 22 in retaliation for the Dhak slaying.
Ryan was recently stopped by police in a vehicle with Sahand Askari, one of two gangster brothers who recently moved back to Metro Vancouver from Iran. Askari was in a vehicle targeted by gunmen in Coquitlam Friday, though he was not injured.
Court records show that 27 new firearms counts were sworn against Ryan last month related to events on Aug. 26 in Burnaby. He has not made an appearance on any of the charges, according to the court database.
Both Ryan and Araki were convicted in 2005 of discharging a firearm, aggravated assault, robbery and break and enter in connection with a violent home invasion to steal the proceeds of a marijuana crop. The grower was beaten and shot several times, but survived.
Law enforcement agencies across Metro Vancouver are concerned about the recent escalation in gang violence, culminating in Sunday’s shooting.
Vancouver police stressed Monday that none of the injured were innocent bystanders, but had all been invited to the Best Neighbours Restaurant for Cunningham’s party.
“The bulk of the people at this birthday party are known to have gang connections,” Deputy Chief Warren Lemcke said. “There were no innocent people who were struck by bullets.”
Lemcke said those shot were aged 20 to 36. He added the shots were fired with an assault weapon.
Police vowed to step up uniformed police presence in the restaurants and bars known to be frequented by gangsters.
Mayor Gregor Robertson, who lives one block from the shooting in the 3800-block of Oak Street, said he was surprised that no one was killed.
He described being awakened by what he initially thought were firecrackers, then got a “sinking feeling” in his stomach when he realized it was gunfire.
“When it happens in your own neighbourhood, it’s a shock,” said Robertson, whose wife and 15-year-old daughter were also at home at the time.
“It was scary for my family and my neighbours’ families.”
Robertson said he tried calling 911 but got a busy signal, adding he suspected other neighbours were also calling in to report the gunfire.
Robertson called the shooting “despicable” and said police will do everything they can to catch those responsible.
The shooting comes just one week after the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit-Gang Task Force issued a warning about the possibility of an increase in gang violence resulting from recent events, including the October mall slaying.
Const. Jana McGuinness said the victims — who were shot near Oak Street and West 23rd Avenue — were targeted by the shooters.
Six men and three women were treated for gunshot wounds at hospital while a tenth victim refused treatment, McGuinness said.
Asked if any of the three females who were shot were simply the girlfriends of the alleged gangsters, Lemcke said he didn’t know. He did say girlfriends were at the party at the time.
“This is an ongoing part of the gang war. Although we have seen lulls, we are also seeing things are similar to what happened Sunday night,” said Lemcke.
“The major concern [for police] is where these shootings are occurring in public and the potential for innocent people to be hurt.”
Many residents who live nearby were startled awake shortly after 2 a.m. when they heard several rounds being fired.
Chief Chu said that for the past two years, police in the region have been focusing on gang members most likely to engage in this type of behaviour.
“There are numerous dynamics [for shooting]. Sometimes hostilities towards rivals and sometimes they shoot each other when they don’t even have a reason,” he said
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Eig...#ixzz18KPARUo7
| |
