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‘Don’t even try to move’, man who held down Nanaimo mill shooter testifies

Sep 12, 2016 | 10:23 PM

NANAIMO — A man who helped hold down the shooter immediately after a mill shooting that left two dead and two injured said he heard, “You know why” in response to his question about what happened.

The courtroom was standing room-only on Monday as the trial of Kevin Addison continued into its fourth day with testimony from witness Edward Good, an employee at the Western Forest Products mill.

As he arrived for a 7 a.m. shift on the morning of April 30, 2014, Good said he was still in his truck when he spotted coworker Jim Gallant “over a body” in the gravel parking lot. “I didn’t turn it off, I just jumped out and ran over to see what was going on.”

Gallant seemed “terrified,” and asked him to go inside and get help for the man, a forklift operator named Michael Lunn, said Good.

Lunn had suffered a serious gunshot wound to his back right side and back of his head and Good said he could see blood on the ground around him. Both Gallant – who took the stand Friday – and Good testified that at this point they were unaware there was a shooter in the office building and did not know what had happened to Lunn.

As he entered the building it was dark, said Good, and he passed the reception area and turned right he said he spotted sawmill manager Andrew Vanger on top of a man that was pinned under a chair.

“He told me to grab the first aid kits and go into his office and grab his radio,” said Good. When he returned with the items, Good told the court that he asked Vanger what happened.

“He said he didn’t know,” said Good, and that according to Vanger the man had just come in and started “shooting everybody.”

It was then that Good said he heard the man pinned under Vanger say, “You know why.”

When he got the equipment, Good said Vanger then asked him to take his spot and hold the chair down over the shooter.

“And did he give you further instructions if anything happened?” asked Crown co-prosecutor Scott Van Alstine.

“Yeah, he said, ‘If he f*ckin’ moves, kick him,’” said Good, who had worked at the mill for about a year and a half at that point and said he did not recognize the man under the chair.

As he held the chair over the shooter, he tried to lift his legs a couple of times, said Good, and at one point he spotted the gun under his leg, which scared him.

“I just said, ‘Don’t move, man. Don’t even try to move,’” said Good.

Good said he held the shooter under the chair until two RCMP officers arrived with guns drawn and proceeded to arrest the man. When questioned, Good said the only other unusual thing he remembered about the man was his eyes. “Empty, you know? Just empty,” he said.

Police have testified that the man they arrested at the mill minutes after the shooting was Kevin Addison, 49, a former mill employee. Addison is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.

A Winchester 12-gauge shotgun with the barrel sawed off was later recovered at the scene by a member of the RCMP’s forensic investigation team. At the time of his arrest, RCMP officer Const. David Buchanan said he found a live shotgun shell in Addison’s left pocket and observed two other live shells at the scene.