By Canadian Press

‘We will do everything we can,’ B.C. police say to reassure public amid gang violence

May 10, 2021 | 1:27 PM

BURNABY, B.C. — Top police officials in British Columbia are trying to reassure the public about safety after a gang war left two men dead and an innocent bystander hurt this weekend. 

Officers say they have charged Ahmed Tahir with a shooting in Burnaby on Saturday that left a 19-year-old man dead and injured the bystander, who is expected to recover. 

They also identified the victim of a shooting Sunday outside Vancouver’s airport as 28-year-old Karman Grewal, and have linked both shootings to the gang conflict.

They say they plan to meet tomorrow with Mike Farnworth, B.C.’s minister of public safety and solicitor general, to lay out their plan to crack down on the gang conflict. 

RCMP Assistant Commissioner Dwayne McDonald says that when violence happens in public spaces, it only strengthens their resolve to put an end to it. 

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He says police agencies across the Lower Mainland are working together and sharing information, but they may be legally bound not to identify victims or suspects publicly before they are charged. 

“We will do everything we can within the limits of the law to put a wet blanket on the activities of these individuals and we will do it in concert,” he said.

Sgt. Frank Jang of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the shootings are growing more brazen by the day, with videos coming in that show children on the same road where a gangster was shot. 

There have been 10 shootings in Metro Vancouver in recent weeks, many of them during daylight hours, and two in mall parking lots filled with vehicles and pedestrians.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 10, 2021.

The Canadian Press