Teenager dies after being caught in crossfire of Vancouver shooting
Posted January 15, 2018 1:49 pm.
Last Updated January 15, 2018 6:09 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A 15-year-old boy caught in the crossfire of a shooting in Vancouver on Saturday night has died. The BC Coroners Service confirmed his death just hours after police said the boy was on life support and not expected to live.
A 23-year-old armed man who was known to police and was involved in the exchange of gunfire died overnight from his injuries.
Police responded to reports of several shots being fired around East Broadway and Ontario Street just after 9:15 p.m. on Saturday night. Police now say there was an exchange of gunfire between at least two people.
The 15-year-old boy from Coquitlam was in a passing car and was hit by a bullet.
Adam Palmer, Chief Constable of the Vancouver Police Department, says it’s the type of call he dreads.
“It’s rare in Vancouver for an innocent victim to be caught up in this type of violence. But every time criminals decide to exchange gunfire on our streets, they endanger the lives of everybody around them. The events of Saturday night were reckless, were reprehensible and there’s no justification for this type of senseless violence in our city.”
23-year-old Kevin Whiteside is the armed man involved in the gunfire who died. He was known to police.
The other man who was injured was in a passing car and was not a target of the shooting. He received minor injuries that were treated at the scene. He is from Vancouver and in his 30s.
Palmer says his heart goes out to the family of the teenager.
“They were having a normal Saturday night evening out with family and now they are grieving for their son.”
“My message to the family is this: we will not ever be able to fully comprehend your grief, but the Vancouver Police Department will do whatever it takes to seek justice for your son.”
Palmer says there are 50 VPD officers working on the case.
Police are still looking for witnesses and are urging anyone who was in the area on Saturday night to call their homicide team on 604-717-2500.
These are the first two homicides in Vancouver this year.
