By Julie Chadwick

First officer on scene of Nanaimo mill shooting testifies on day one of trial

Sep 7, 2016 | 5:10 PM

NANAIMO — The trial of a man accused of killing two men and wounding two others at a Nanaimo sawmill began on Wednesday with an unsettling account of events from Crown prosecutor Nic Barber.

Kevin Addison, 47 at the time of the shooting, is charged with two counts of first degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.

In his opening statement to the jury, Barber outlined the Crown’s case and said Addison was apprehended after an injured Fred McEachern hit Addison over the head with a chair and helped employee Andy Vanger hold him until RCMP arrived.

Mill superintendent McEachern, 53, was shot in the back and later died of his injuries.

According to their evidence, Barber says it was just before 7 a.m. on April 30, 2014 when mill chairman Michael Lunn, 62, arrived for work at the Western Forest Products Mill. As he exited his truck in the parking lot he was immediately shot in the back and killed, said Barber.

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Security guard Michael Lauder witnessed the shooting from his nearby security shack and then ducked for cover.

“The Crown alleges that Kevin Addison then walked past the security shack and into the nearby office building and proceeded through the building, first shooting Tony Sudar in the face,” said Barber. Sudar was vice-president of manufacturing at the mill.

Employee Andy Vanger then came across Addison, who was carrying a sawed-off shotgun, in the hallway and confronted him.

During the struggle that ensued, Addison was heard to say, “You know who I am, you f*cked me up,” or words to that effect, said Barber.

Following the confrontation, Fred McEachern and mill supervisor Earl Kelly were shot in Kelly’s office. Kelly was shot in the back but survived his injuries.

The court also heard from Sgt. Paul Minkley, who was the first officer on the scene and arrived approximately three minutes after the first 911 call.

As he approached the mill he said he could see a person lying on the gravel in the parking lot and another person standing over him, waving to the police car. Another man in a high-visibility vest was walking towards the office building.

“I jumped out of the police car, drew my pistol at that time and I yelled, ‘Police, stop, don’t go into the building,’” Minkley said. “He turned looked at me and said ‘They need first aid in there,’ and then he went inside the building.”

Just inside the door of the building, Minkley said he identified himself as an officer and then heard a voice to his left say, “We’re in here, we need an ambulance.”

“The first thing I saw as I came through that door was a male lying on the ground who appeared to be bleeding from his torso. There was another male sort of kneeling over top of him and appeared to be trying to provide some first aid,” Minkley said. “As I came into the room and more of it opened up to me, I could see another person sitting on the floor with his back leaning against a half-wall, a partition wall.”

As he entered the room, Minkley said he asked the men, “Where is the shooter?” and the man providing first aid pointed at the man sitting on the floor said, “That’s the shooter, he’s got the gun underneath him.”

This was the man he later understood to be Kevin Addison, Minkley said.

“I pointed my pistol at Mr. Addison, at the person sitting on the ground. I looked at him and I could see what looked like the butt end of some kind of firearm sticking out from underneath his legs. I told him to put his hands up and he did, right away,” Minkley said. “I was yelling.”

At this point Addison, who Minkley said was wearing jeans, boots and a jean jacket over a dark hoodie, was arrested. He did not speak and was compliant with their commands, Minkley said.

The jury of six men and six women also heard from Sgt. Keith Stone of the RCMP’s forensic identification unit, who testified that shotgun shells were recovered from the scene – four spent and two live. These were consistent with ammunition that would be used in a 12-gauge shotgun, Stone said.

Also found within the building was a Winchester 12-gauge shotgun with the barrel sawed off and its rear stick (behind the trigger) cut and wrapped with black electrical tape, said Stone.

During the trial, at times members of the public wiped away tears. Outside the courthouse, members of the victims’ families hugged. Pam Lunn, the sister of Michael Lunn, said the road to the trial had been a long one filled with tears.

“Lots of tears,” she said. “He’s our only brother.”

Addison has entered not guilty pleas to all charges.

The Crown plan to call on approximately 30 witnesses and the trial is expected to run for three weeks.

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Julie Chadwick will be in court for each day of the trial. Check back daily for extensive coverage.