Mounties say Angus David Mitchell had hit list

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Mounties say more people could have been killed.

Integrated Homicide Investigation Team investigators are speaking out about Angus David Mitchell, the double murder suspect shot dead by RCMP last Wednesday. They confirm investigators found a hit list composed by Mitchell that targeted specific individuals and businesses.

One of the people on his hit list was 34-year old single mother Chinh (Vivian) Diem Huynh, found murdered at a Burnaby sushi restaurant June 27. Another man, Huong (Andy) Tran, was also found killed in the eatery.

Mitchell’s former landlord in Burnaby, who was shot and wounded a few days later, was also on the hit list, police say.

“IHIT investigators have examined evidence which clearly indicated Mitchell had plans to target six businesses and six specific individuals in total, of which the sushi restaurant and his former landlord were only the first on the list,” explains IHIT Insp. Kevin Hackett.

Hackett notes the list goes back to conflicts in 2009, adding Mitchell planned shootings in 7 places around the Lower Mainland. Mounties are not releasing the names of the people and businesses on the list.

“I can’t get into too much of the details. I haven’t seen the documents themselves as they’re still secured. But I’ve been made aware that they included maps, addresses, telephone numbers and specifics around the individuals that he was intending on targeting,” says Hackett.

“Investigators are continuing to search for a motive, but we’re not confident we will find one that will make any sense,” he adds. “Of one thing we were certain, had he not been located when he was, the potential for additional loss of life was extreme.”

Investigators are crediting a keen witness who called 911 and fast acting officers for preventing more killings by Mitchell.

The 26-year-old died in hospital after exchanging shots with police in Maple Ridge last Wednesday.

Burnaby RCMP were searching for Mitchell after his former landlord was shot in front of his home in Burnaby the night before. A tip came in an hour after Burnaby RCMP made a public warning. Mitchell was discovered in his green van in a rural area near 224 and 132 Streets.

Police think Mitchell had been living out of his 1994 green Ford Aerostar van. They say he was evicted from a few places in the past and was fired from another job.

Police credit 911 caller

The woman who first spotted Mitchell’s van says she never hesitated to call police despite the tense manhunt.

Susanne Murphy was taking her dog out for his walk at the end of her rural Maple Ridge street near a dirt road last Wednesday.

“About two minutes before I actually entered the dirt road, I was listening to [News1130] when I heard the public warning and the description of [Angus] Mitchell’s vehicle with the licence plate number,” Murphy explains.

Then, she spotted a van. “I saw the licence plate and realized, ‘This is the guy.'”

Murphy drove away, dove into her pocket for her phone, dialled 911 and spent an anxious hour on the line with police. She and another person in the area were not allowed to leave until police told her it was safe.

Murphy says she never thought twice about making the call.

“I know that some people hesitate or they don’t want to get involved. I didn’t even hesitate, I just dialled,” she says. “I knew I did the right thing. I was just kind of scared because I didn’t know where he was, if he was actually in the van or outside the van.”

Murphy adds she never saw Mitchell, and she’s thankful she didn’t.