Politicians, police seek help as gun violence surges in Metro Vancouver

Legislators and police are feeling frustrated over a sudden surge of gun violence in Metro Vancouver that resulted in four fatalities in the past week.

B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal appealed for public help Monday in curbing violence in what police have stopped short of calling a gang war.

The latest shooting occurred Sunday night in the Kitsilano area of Vancouver. A 28-year-old was shot outside an IGA in the 2000 block of West 10th Avenue.

Vancouver police said the man, known to have ties with a Lower Mainland gang, has refused to co-operate with investigators.

"There is frustration and there is a sense of urgency, not only with the public but within our own agencies," Const. Jana McGuinness said Monday.

'They [gangs] are fighting for territory.… The police go to these scenes and they get no help from anybody.' — B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal

Solicitor General John van Dongen came under fire in the legislature when Opposition public safety critic Mike Farnworth demanded the minister release a consultant's report on combating illegal firearms.

"The public deserves to know what those recommendations are. They deserve to know now," Farnworth said.

Van Dongen said last week he was waiting for comments from police agencies and other officials before releasing the report, commissioned last summer.

"[There are] Issues around disclosure, issues around interception of communications by the police, and issues around firearms. And we'll detail that in the coming days," van Dongen told CBC News.

Van Dongen also admits a level of frustration with the bail system.

"All of these people are out on bail, and we need to look at that as part of the overall strategy is to get people into secure custody," he said of the shooting victims with alleged ties with gangs.

One solution, van Dongen said, is to build a state-of-the-art prison in Burnaby, a suburb of Vancouver, to house more of the convicted gangsters instead of releasing them on bail. But changing the provincial bail system would need federal support.

Oppal, a former judge, said while British Columbians may perceive the justice system as being weak on criminals, but judges are, in fact, doing an adequate job on sentencing.

He blamed the violence on rivalry in the illegal drug trade. "They are fighting for territory," he said.

"The police go to these scenes and they get no help from anybody. I agree with the police when they plead for public help. There are people out there who know what's happening."

Gun violence across Metro Vancouver

The fighting has ranged from Abbotsford, in the Fraser Valley east of Vancouver, to Kitsilano, the heart of latte-land on Vancouver's west side and the site of Sunday's attack.

Gangsters are using parking lots to do business and settle their differences, RCMP spokesman Cpl. Peter Thiessen said after two gunmen riddled a pickup truck with bullets at a Langley mall Friday afternoon, killing Kevin LeClair, 26.

Police have linked Leclair to Abbotsford's Bacon brothers, who police say are being systematically targeted by rivals. They've issued a rare warning to the public that associating with the brothers could put them directly in harm's way.

Raphael Baldini, who leased a Surrey apartment where six people were slain in October 2007, was shot to death last Tuesday sitting in a luxury SUV outside a Surrey mall.

A few hours later, Brianna Helen Kinnear, 21, was found shot dead, slumped over the steering wheel of a vehicle in Coquitlam.

Last Monday night, James Erickson, 25, was found dead with gunshot wounds in a Surrey apartment building.

Premier Gordon Campbell echoed the calls for a major crackdown on gangland violence, calling it "totally unacceptable."

" We've been very direct in terms of integrated gang task force [and] integrated homicide task force. We've been calling on Ottawa for increasing penalties," Campbell said Monday.

"I think all of these things are going to be critical as we deal with this, but we're going to deal with it and we're going to deal with it directly."