Kyle Syrenne was walking to his girlfriend’s home on the Songhees First Nation reserve about 4:30 a.m. Saturday when four people got out of a taxi and attacked him.
The assault would prove fatal — the 26-year-old Victoria man died of his injuries Tuesday morning.
Police are looking for his attackers.
“I believe in my heart that there’s someone who knows something, so please come forward with that information,” Syrenne’s father, Roland, told the Times Colonist on Tuesday.
Syrenne’s parents, Roland and Tracey, and his brother Riel flew to Victoria from Saskatchewan after receiving news that Syrenne was fighting for his life after the assault.
Four people, two women and two men, flagged down a taxi at Esquimalt Road and Head Street and asked to go to the reserve, said Michael Westeroth, Bluebird taxi’s operations manager.
When the four were dropped off, they asked the cab driver to come back in 10 or 15 minutes, but did not say why.
“The driver went back, they came running out and jumped in his cab and said, ‘Take us to Topaz Park,’ ” Westeroth said.
“He figures they might have been fighting, but he didn’t question it. He just took them there.”
That was the driver’s last fare before he went home.
Westeroth said every taxi is equipped with working video cameras and the surveillance footage has been provided to West Shore RCMP. The cab driver has also been interviewed by police.
Police do not believe the assailants knew Syrenne and are trying to determine a motive for the assault.
Songhees Chief Ron Sam, an uncle of Syrenne’s girlfriend, Tasha Jayy, said the whole community is shaken by the fatal beating.
“As far as we’re concerned, he was a part of our community, so for somebody to come onto our reserve and do something so damaging to a person and for a family to have to go through this, we’re very upset as a nation and as a people,” Sam said.
“These individuals had no connection to the reserve. We don’t know what brought them in a taxi to our reserve and that’s what I’m waiting to find out.”
The Syrenne family said they are grateful for the support provided by Chief Sam, Jayy’s family and the entire First Nation.
In a Facebook post, Jayy said the two had been dating for more than eight months.
“I love Kyle, with my whole heart!” she wrote. “Kyle has brought so much happiness into my world and right from the start it was happiness.”
Kyle Syrenne grew up in Martensville, a suburb of Saskatoon, and attended Martensville High School.
He moved to Victoria in November 2013 and worked as a tile setter.
His roommate and friend, MacKenzie Byrnes, said Syrenne loved music and had the biggest CD collection she has ever seen. He was also a talented skateboarder, she said.
Riel Syrenne said his younger brother was selfless and would do anything to make others happy.
Kyle Syrenne’s organs were donated, which will help seven people survive, said his mother, Tracey.
“Through this tragedy, seven lives are going to be strengthened because of what he’s offering.”
Tracey Syrenne said saying goodbye to her son “was the hardest thing that anyone [in our family] has had to do and I wouldn’t wish it upon any other mother or father.”
The family said police have been updating them every day. They are hoping for a quick arrest to provide closure.
“It is a very tragic situation, especially for the victim’s family, who need answers as to what happened,” said West Shore RCMP spokesman Const. Alex Berube.
“We are encouraging the occupants of the taxi to come forward and speak with our investigators.”
The Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit and West Shore RCMP major crime investigators continue to gather evidence.
Anyone with information is asked to call RCMP at 250-474-2264 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
