Pubdate: Mon, 14 Sep 2015
Source: Metro (Vancouver, CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Metro Canada
Contact:  http://www.metronews.ca/vancouver
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3775
Author: Thandi Fletcher
Page: 5

COMMUNITY SILENCE HELPS GANGS: MAYOR

Escalating drug turf war puts innocents in crossfire

The mayor of Abbotsford is calling for stronger federal action to help
combat a gang war in the Metro Vancouver region that he says is
growing out of control.

Mayor Henry Braun's comments come a week after Ping Shun Ao, a
74-year-old grandfather, was shot and killed outside his home in
Townline Hill, a quiet residential neighbourhood on the north western
edge of the Fraser Valley city.

Investigators believe a neighbouring home was the intended target and
that a stray bullet struck Ao, who was outside his home taking out the
garbage at the time.

"When innocent bystanders are killed, I don't know how much more
serious it can get," Braun told Metro in an interview on Friday. "This
can't continue and it won't continue=C2=85 These men are going to be
brought to justice."

Braun, along with Abbotsford Police Chief Const. Bob Rich, discussed
the region's escalating gang violence at a community safety forum at
the Abbotsford Arts Centre on Thursday night. About 300 people
attended the event, during which the mayor called on the community to
help stop the growing turf war.

On the evening that Ao was killed, Braun said police only received one
emergency call reporting gunfire.

"That in and of itself is a concern," he said. "This is a fully built
up residential area. This happened at 7:15 p.m. on a summer night.
There had to be many, many more people that heard gunshots and yet
only one person called in."

Braun said the city and Abbotsford police are working to determine why
many members of the community are no longer co-operating with
investigators.

"We're trying to determine, is it because people are afraid to call
the police because of fear of reprisals, or are there language
barriers?" he asked. "People need to help us. They have information we
need. If the public just clams up, it makes it doubly hard to figure
out who this is."

Part of the problem behind the gang war, said Braun, is a weak
criminal justice system that he said is allowing criminals to "fall
through the cracks."

He described the violence in his region as the result of a growing
turf war between two rival gangs that are fighting for control of drug
lines in Abbotsford and Surrey.

Gang members are as young as 14 and that they have "absolutely zero
respect for any authority," said Braun.

"Right now it's low-level crime and it's over nonsensical things like
somebody looked at his girlfriend the wrong way," he said. "But if
these kids stay in that long enough, they're going to graduate into
the lower reaches of gangs and eventually you have gang leaders and it
gets worse."

Braun called on the federal government to impose stiffer penalties to
help curb gang violence in his city before it continues to grow out of
control.

"Local government doesn't make the laws," he said. "We have to get
tougher on crime. I know a lot of politicians don't like to talk about
that but we're in an election, and I think everybody should be asking
the candidates that are running, what are you going to do?"
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MAP posted-by: Matt