Vancouver man, 29, named victim of gang execution
Police tape surrounds area where man was found shot dead. Photo Vancouverite.
VANCOUVER – (Update2) Police have identified a man with a police record as a victim of the gangland style execution reported to cops at around 8:30 a.m. on Saturday.
“Vancouver Police are confirming the identity of the man who died in Vancouver’s 1st homicide of 2010,” said Const. Lindsey Houghton.
“ Craig Michael Hall, a 29-year-old Vancouver resident, was found deceased in the 4400 block Knight Street on Saturday morning,” said Houghton.
“Hall was known to police,” he added as homicide detectives continued their search for an Indo-Canadian man who was seen fleeing the scene of the shooting at around 1:30 a.m. on Saturday.
The shooting left the victim dead near the steps leading to a house, just off the sidewalk. His body was not discovered for approximately seven hours.
Police said they have determined that neighbors in the 4400-block of Knight Street heard shots at approximately 1:30 a.m.. No one called 911 to report the shots.
An autopsy is scheduled for next week. Police have not established the dead man’s identity.
“With the assistance of witnesses, investigators have now determined that shots were fired in the 4400- block of Knight Street around 1:30 Saturday morning, hours before the discovery of a man’s body on the front steps of a nearby home,” said Const. Jana McGuinness earlier.
“An Indo-Canadian man was seen running eastbound along East 32nd Avenue between 1:30 and 2:00 a.m. after the sound of the shots rang out,” said the Vancouver Police spokeswoman.
The man seen running from the area is described as an Indo-Canadian male who was approximately 6′ tall. He had a slim build, and was wearing a T-shirt.
“He appeared to be distressed according to a witness,” said McGuinness.
At this stage of the investigation, police are unlikely to know if the man running from the scene was with the victim and was trying to escape or whether he was an assailant.
Police were then called by paramedics who identified the gun shot wounds.
Although cops don’t have a motive yet, the shooting has hallmarks of a gangland style execution.
Police roped off the east sidewalk of 4400-block of Knight Street yesterday as detectives combed the area for evidence and interviewed people living along the high-traffic street which is heavily used by trucks entering or leaving the city.
“Vancouver Police are appealing for information in the city’s first homicide of the year after a man in his thirties was founddead on the front sidewalk of a home in the 4400-block of Knight Street around 8:30 Saturday morning,” said McGuinness.
“The VPD Major Crime Homicide Section and Forensic Identification Unit are investigating. A canvass of the area for witnesses and evidence is ongoing,” she said.
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Posted by News Editor
on Jan 18 2010. Filed under Featured, LATEST FROM VANCOUVER.
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