Gang leader reported killed in B.C. shooting

A man is dead and several others have been wounded in a shooting outside a hotel and casino in Kelowna, B.C.

Several media outlets have reported the deceased is Jonathan Bacon, a gang leader with a long history of criminal activity in the Lower Mainland.

Witnesses told several media outlets they saw a masked gunman on foot fire multiple shots from an automatic weapon at a white luxury vehicle parked outside the Delta Grand hotel at 1310 Water St.

Kelowna RCMP Const. Steve Holmes said the target was a Porsche Cayenne SUV, with men and women inside it. He would not say whether more than one person fired on the vehicle.

As the Porsche was leaving the hotel's front entrance, the assault began.

"All several individuals inside [the Porsche] suffered gunshot wounds and are being treated in hospital. One male is confirmed dead," Holmes said.

The driver of the Porsche attempted to flee, but crashed into the side of the hotel's conference centre, which is located near the Lake City Casino.

The silvery-green SUV used in the getaway headed up Cawston Avenue and disappeared, Holmes said.

This kind of incident is rare in Kelowna, he said.

"However, when it does happen it is shocking and traumatic to those affected by it and is of concern to the people living in this community," Holmes said in a news conference late Sunday.

"The public needs to know that swift and extraordinary measures are being taken in order to ensure that those responsible will be found and brought to account before the courts."

Holmes wouldn't confirm the identity of the lone man killed or provide any information about the victims' ages, hometowns or relationships. Police don't believe any bystanders were injured, he said.

"Police believe the general public is not at risk," said Holmes, explaining police believe the shooting was targeted.

Kelowna RCMP's serious crimes unit is investigating and is asking the public to submit photos, videos, or come forward with eyewitness accounts.

Witnesses shocked

Eddie Shortridge of Calgary, a visitor in Kelowna, said he heard the shots fired.

"It was like two bursts of submachine-gun fire and then that was it," he said. "I have a bit of a military background so I knew what it was straightaway."

Another man, who asked to remain anonymous, said he noticed a heavily tattooed man and two women climb into a Porsche Cayenne outside the hotel's front entrance. That's when he heard shots fired.

"I pretty much seen some guy with a mask unload a clip. [He] ran back out here to the sidewalk, ran back in unloading a clip, jumped in a silver Explorer and hoofed it," the man told the Kelowna Daily Courier.

He described the shooter as wearing a black ski mask and black clothes.

Burned-out vehicle found

A photographer at the scene said bystanders were aware police were searching for at least one vehicle, said to be an early model silver or grey Ford Explorer.

Sometime after 6 p.m. the RCMP located a burned-out Ford Explorer in Lake Country, a community about 25 kilometres north of downtown Kelowna.

RCMP did not confirm the vehicle was the same one seen leaving the scene of the shooting.

The chaos outside the hotel had calmed by mid-evening, and police and forensic experts were working behind the yellow tape.

Only guests were being permitted to enter the hotel.

Kelowna is 400 kilometres east of Vancouver.