RCMP confirmed Monday that Jonathan Bacon, the eldest of three brothers with alleged gang ties in the Lower Mainland, was killed outside a Kelowna, B.C. hotel Sunday afternoon in what they described as a targeted hit.
Police also told reporters that one of the five victims injured in the shooting is a member of the White Rock chapter of Hells Angels.
Two women, including the niece of a Hells Angels president, were also injured in the brazen daylight attack, while a fifth victim fled after the shooting stopped.
Police said Monday afternoon that none of the injuries are life-threatening, and called the attack a targeted hit.
No arrests have been made and police were reluctant to release other details of their investigation, refusing to say how many suspects they're looking for or what kind of weapon was used.
Supt. Bill McKinnon of the Kelowna RCMP detachment released few other details during a news conference. But he said investigators are still trying to determine the motive for the shooting.
"While there can be a series of complex cause-based factors behind it, it can also be as simple as who is dating whom," he said.
Witnesses have told police that the violence began when a white Porsche SUV was preparing to drive away from the front of the Delta Grand Okanagan at about 2:45 p.m.
That's when a vehicle pulled up behind the SUV and masked gunmen started shooting.
Witnesses reportedly told police that they saw suspects dressed all in black brandishing what looked like semi-automatic weapons.
The SUV drove for a short distance as the gunfire rang out.
A suspect vehicle, described by the RCMP as a "silvery green SUV," sped away from the scene.
Daniel Bibby, the hotel's general manager, told The Canadian Press that it was a "tough day" for the hotel's employees. He said neither Bacon, nor the other victims, were registered guests at the hotel.
McKinnon cautioned that it will take investigators time to conduct their investigation.
"Gang and organized crime investigations are extremely complex and take an enormous amount of resources," he said, saying arrests could be some time away.
Const. Steve Holmes also told reporters that investigators are looking into a burnt-out vehicle that was found near the shooting scene.
Bacon and his two brothers are well-known in B.C. for having faced numerous drugs and weapons charges over the years. The youngest, Jamie Bacon, is currently in jail and also facing charges in connection with the deaths of six people in Surrey in 2007.
The Supreme Court of Canada was to review a case in which Jonathan was charged with drug and gun offences in 2005, after a lower court found his charter rights were violated in the case.
Police allege the brothers form the core of the Red Scorpions gang. Jonathan and Jamie had both escaped previous attempts on their lives.
Hospital closed over gang fears
Earlier Monday, an RCMP inspector said a Vancouver hospital closed its doors to visitors for several hours overnight as a person with gang ties was being treated.
For about three hours early Monday morning, Vancouver General Hospital imposed what it described as a controlled access procedure.
RCMP Insp. Byron Massie told The Canadian Press that the patient had a known gang affiliation and police wanted to prevent any associates with gang history from gathering at the hospital.
"They wanted to make sure that the staff and any of the patients at the hospital were not going to be subject to any of the influx of their friends coming in, who would have some gang history," said Massie.
Massie would not say if the patient had any connection to the attack in Kelowna.
CTV British Columbia's Kent Molgat said the shooting has left Kelowna residents on edge.
"With bullets flying around a crowded area, there's nothing about this that has people feeling safe," Molgat told CTV's Canada AM on Monday morning.
Experts said on Monday afternoon that members of the public should brace themselves for potentially violent reprisals.
Kash Heed, a former West Vancouver police chief who helped spearhead the province's anti-gangs task force, told The Canadian Press that this incident won't be taken lightly by the associates of the supposed victims.
"I'm sure there will be attempts or certainly a lot of discussion regarding retaliation," Heed said.
Police said late Sunday they do not believe the general public is at target as a result of the slaying outside the hotel. But investigators are determined to hunt down the people involved in the deadly attack.
"The public needs to know that swift and extraordinary measures are being taken in order to ensure that those responsible will be found and brought to account before the courts," RCMP Const. Steve Holmes said in a statement released on Sunday night.
Gang activity has killed and injured dozens of people in B.C's Lower Mainland in recent years, including at least four dozen shootings in 2009 in the Vancouver area alone.
With files from The Canadian Press
