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Rare, brazen Vancouver shooting leaves teen clinging to life

Xinhua,January 16, 2018 Adjust font size:

VANCOUVER, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- An innocent teenager is clinging to life after getting caught in the crossfire of a brazen shooting here on Saturday night, Vancouver Police said on Monday afternoon at a press conference.

The shooting marks the first homicide in Vancouver in 2018 and has captured the hearts and attention of Vancouverites not used to blatant and apparent gang-related violence involving innocent victims.

A 23-year-old Vancouver resident involved directly in the shooting died of his injuries in hospital, Vancouver Police said.

Investigators believe that 23-year-old Kevin Whiteside exchanged gun fire with at least one other yet-unknown person during the shooting along a section of East Broadway in Vancouver's Mount Pleasant neighborhood - a busy thoroughfare, but also an area packed with pedestrians, cafes, shops and restaurants.

Tragically, police say the innocent 15-year-old boy was injured in the shooting as he rode in passing car. On Monday, the young resident of the Vancouver suburb of Coquitlam remained on life support.

The 15-year-old was not expected to survive, said Vancouver Police Department Chief Constable Adam Palmer.

Palmer said Whiteside was known to police.

"This is the type of call I absolutely dread and I am incredibly saddened and heartbroken," Palmer said. "It is rare in Vancouver for an innocent victim to be caught up in this type of violence and this investigation remains a priority for us. We are pulling all available resources together."

Palmer insisted at the press conference that Vancouver remains a safe city. It has been roughly 14 years since a gang-related shooting here has killed an innocent bystander, according to the Vancouver Sun newspaper.

The police chief said the VPD has at least 50 officers investigating this shooting, and is committed to solving this case.

Investigators believe that there are still people who may have witnessed this shooting and have yet to call the police.

A 30-year-old bystander was also injured in the ordeal and was treated and released. Enditem

 

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