Surrey’s record-high murder rate extended to 23 in the early hours of Saturday morning, as investigators found a dead man at an unlicensed after-hours bar, days after the city launched a special homicide task force.
Around 4:30 a.m. Saturday, Surrey RCMP responded to reports of a fight inside a home on the 9100-block of 147a Street.
When police arrived, they found two wounded men inside the house. One man died of his injuries and the other remained in hospital in critical condition Saturday afternoon.
The property had been operating as a “booze-can” — an unlicensed, after-hours bar — and at the time of the incident, there were between 30 and 50 people in the house, IHIT spokeswoman Sgt. Jennifer Pound told reporters outside the crime scene.
“Once this assault occurred, there was a number of people who fled that scene, so we’re looking to identify who they are,” Pound said. “We have not confirmed what, if any, weapons were used, but we can say that a firearm was not used.
Saturday afternoon, homicide investigators were canvassing the inside and outside the 9112 147a Ave, a two-story house with chipped paint, drawn curtains in the windows and an unkempt, overgrown lawn.
The building’s reputation as a “booze can” was well known in the area according to neighbours.
Brenda Stevenson has lived down the street for more than 15 years, and said for the past several years the house has regularly attracted “a lot of cabs” late at night.
“There’s a lot of partying that goes on there,” she said. “It’s kind of unfortunate. But it’s a nice neighbourhood otherwise.”
Last June, police responded to a non-fatal shooting on the same 9100-block of 147a Street, at 4:30 a.m. on a Sunday. At the time, investigators said the shooting was not believed to be gang-related.
Another neighbour said he remembered hearing about that shooting last year.
“I think he went to the hospital and survived,” he said. “Ask them (the police) if it’s gonna take a murder to get it shut down.”
One woman who knew both victims said the incident arose out of a fight at a party. The woman, who asked to be referred to only as “Kelly,” had been to that house before, and confirmed the property had played host to regular late-night parties for several years.
The man in critical condition and the dead man knew each other, Kelly said.
The surviving man was on life support Saturday with a critical head injury, she said.
“The last we heard was that they couldn’t stop the bleeding,” she said. “If they can’t stop the bleeding, they don’t know whether he’ll make it or not.”
On Monday, Surrey recorded its 22nd homicide of 2013, marking an all-time single year high.
The following day, Mayor Dianne Watts announced the formation of a special task force of police, educators and criminologists to examine the city’s escalating murder rate.
The task force is scheduled to meet for the first time next week.
