Pair shot to death in restaurant identified

A nursing student and her friend have been identified as the victims of a shooting over the weekend.

Tina Kong and Kevin Ses, both 21, were both found dead in the Food in East restaurant on Sunday at about 4 a.m. after someone walked in and opened fire. Their names were officially released by police on Tuesday.

Two other men sitting at their table were wounded. One remains in stable condition in hospital.

Kong, who moved to Calgary from Nanaimo, B.C., was taking practical nursing at Bow Valley College. Ses was a native of Calgary, said police.

Friends of the pair have set up memorial groups on Facebook.

Grief counselling is available at the college Kong attended for anyone who needs it, said Katherine Cormack, the school's communications director.

"This is incredibly sad and we will do whatever we need to do to help our students through this time," she said.

There were only about 35 nursing students in Kong's section so all of her classmates have been deeply affected by her sudden death, added Cormack.

At least 2 masked people involved: police

After speaking with more than 15 people, police believe at least two people burst into the restaurant and shot directly at the victims' table, said Staff Sgt. Kevin Forsen of the homicide unit Tuesday.

"From the descriptions, we do know they had their faces covered and that we're also looking at the possibility there were other people involved when they fled the scene," he said.

'That's very much a possibility that the people responsible for it are gang members or associated and that's why they carried it out the way they did.' — Staff Sgt. Kevin Forsen

Forsen said all six people at the victims' table did not have previous run-ins with police, and were not documented as gang members.

In light of that, he said it was possible the killings were linked to a romantic relationship gone wrong or mistaken identity, but reiterated the belief that the shooting was targeted and likely gang-related.

"That's very much a possibility that the people responsible for it are gang members or associated and that's why they carried it out the way they did," he explained.

There was no evidence that there was illegal activity going on inside the restaurant, and the group had been there for at least 40 minutes, eating a meal, Forsen said.

"The dynamics were very, very fast. The information we have is that it was sudden. There wasn't any disagreement or argument; it was suddenly, there was somebody with a gun and shots were fired," he said.