By Julie Chadwick

Expert testifies piece found at Addison’s residence came from gun seized at Nanaimo mill

Sep 19, 2016 | 9:40 PM

NANAIMO — One of the shotgun remnants found in a garbage can at Kevin Addison’s residence by police matches that of the weapon found at the Nanaimo mill shooting crime scene, an RCMP forensic firearms expert told the court on Monday.

They “were at one time parts of the same object,” said Daisy Wong, referring to the wooden rear stock of a firearm found at the Addison residence and a 12-gauge Winchester shotgun found at the Western Forest Products mill that had a portion cut off its rear stock to give it a pistol-like grip.

This conclusion was reached after extensive analysis of the side grains and defects within the wood of the two pieces, among other features such as its contours, said Wong.

Other evidence seized by Nanaimo RCMP at Addison’s residence included a broken trigger lock and the sawed-off section of a gun barrel, as well as electrical tape, hacksaw blades and a metal file.

The sawed-off section of barrel found in the master bedroom at Addison’s house could not be conclusively linked to, or eliminated from, the shotgun recovered from the scene, said Wong, though both had saw marks and were of consistent dimensions and shape.

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Two people died from single gunshot wounds during the mill shooting – forklift operator and union steward Michael Lunn, who was shot in the back of his right upper arm, and mill superintendent Fred McEachern, who was shot in the lower back. Two others were shot but survived.

Lunn was likely shot from a range of less than six feet, said Wong, while tests done on the shirt worn by McEachern at the time of the shooting suggested he could have been shot from anywhere between one and 10 feet away.

According to Wong’s analysis, the spent shells recovered from the scene of the mill shooting were indeed fired from the shotgun recovered at the crime scene. There were no issues with the firearm’s operability after it was seized, she added.

As the final witnesses were called by the Crown in the ongoing trial of former mill worker Kevin Addison, the court also heard from Dr. John Grabher, an emergency room physician working at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital on April 30, 2014 – the day of the shooting.

Several hours after Addison was taken into police custody he was transported to hospital with complaints of dizziness and a mild headache, Cpl. Chris Boucher testified earlier in the trial.

Addison arrived at the hospital at approximately 12:54 p.m. and was given a CT scan, Dr. Grabher testified.

There was a noticeable contusion on the right side of his scalp and mild swelling on his upper right jaw, said Dr. Grabher. Other than some soft tissue swelling there were no results from the scan, and his conclusion was that Addison had suffered a mild concussion.

The injuries appeared to be fresh, said Dr. Grabher, and the patient seemed alert.

“He was able to answer questions. He did not seem confused,” he said.

The mill shooter was subdued when McEachern hit the man over the head with an office chair, according to previous testimony from sawmill manager Andrew Vanger and production coordinator Earl Kelly, who said he was shot in the back while diving for cover in his office.

The trial continues this week.