Double homicide in Burnaby sushi restaurant shocks community

A double homicide inside a popular Burnaby sushi restaurant has shocked nearby residents and business owners.

Huong (Andy) Tran, a 36-year-old Burnaby man, and an unidentified woman are dead after a shooting inside Royal Oak Sushi House of which Tran was the owner.

Police responded Sunday around 9:30 p.m. after a passerby called to report they had seen a person lying on the floor inside the restaurant in the 6500-block Royal Oak Avenue.

While Sgt. Jennifer Pound of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team couldn’t say whether there was forced entry to the business or if anything had been stolen, she confirmed both victims were associated with the restaurant, are not family and that neither were previously known to police.

Pound said the woman’s identity will be released sometime today after the next-of-kin are notified.

“We can say that it doesn’t appear to be gang-related,” Pound said of the shooting, adding investigators would be on scene well into last night and possibly this morning. Nearby businesses were also being canvassed for witnesses and possible surveillance footage.

“Again, we don’t know the motive at this point, so all those questions are things the investigators are here canvassing and speaking to witnesses to determine,” Pound said.

Supt. Derren Lench of the Burnaby RCMP offered words of comfort to the public.

“Burnaby as a city is safe. We do have crimes, obviously, but homicide isn’t one of the crimes that typically occur within our city,” Lench said. “We’re confident that a motive will be established and that [the shooting] won’t be a random act.”

Brittany Reid, owner of the neighbouring Reflex Kingsway store, said she often bought sushi at the Royal Oak Sushi House. She said Tran ran the restaurant with his wife, and it was always busy.

“I’m amazed something like that happened,” she said. “I’ve seen them often. We get sushi from there all the time. They’re amazing, they’re cute. [Tran was] super friendly, the lady was friendly. Just a young couple running a business.”

Josh Karls of Kirmac Collision & Autoglass, located only a block south of the restaurant, said many of his employees also visited the restaurant on their lunch breaks. Karls was shocked by the homicide but wasn’t worried for the safety of his business or staff.

“It must have been targeted,” Karls said. “I mean, stuff like that doesn’t just happen.”

Florence Siver has lived in the area for 20 years and considers herself a regular at the sushi restaurant.

“Every time I walked in there, they knew what I wanted and would get my miso soup ready right away. They just seem like good, normal people,” Siver said of the restaurant’s owner and staff. “But they can’t help what kind of people are living in the area.”

Siver said she’s often seen shady characters frequenting the mixed residential and commercial area bordered by a SkyTrain station to the south.

“Everyone’s worried about their safety around here,” Siver said.

sip@theprovince.com

jmcelroy@theprovince.com

© Copyright (c) The Province

Read More @ Source



Criminal Stories Here

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Homicide victim found at vacant Everett house

Image
EVERETT -- Police on Wednesday were canvassing the View Ridge-Madison neighborhood in Everett after a man was found dead there the night before. A neighbor spotted the man on the ground outside a vacant house at 22 Madison St. He called 911 about 6:20 p.m. The man had obvious signs of trauma to his torso, police said. He looked to be in his late 20s or early 30s. The Everett Major Crimes Unit is investigating the death as a homicide, Lt. Robert Goetz said. Detectives declined to say more about how they believe the man may have died. There are no identified suspects or motives. Detectives received a search warrant around 11:45 p.m. Tuesday and collected evidence at the scene. They returned Wednesday afternoon to look for clues in the daylight, Goetz said. The victim's identity had not been determined as of late Wednesday afternoon. The body was turned over to the Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office. Anyone with information is asked to call 425-257-8450. Rikki King: 425-
Keep reading

Manslaughter charges possible in boy's death

Image
Published: Thursday, August 23, 2012, 5:55 p.m. MONROE -- Detectives believe a 7-year-old Monroe boy's parents should face second-degree manslaughter charges in connection with his January overdose death. Monroe police this week wrapped up their probe into the boy's Jan. 30 death and forwarded the case to prosecutors to decide if his parents should face criminal charges. Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Lisa Paul likely will begin reviewing the case in the coming days. She doesn't expect to make a charging decision in the near future, however. "It's quite an extensive investigation, and I want to review it thoroughly before I make any decision," she said. The boy, identified as "A.J." in court papers, ingested a lethal amount of salicylates, a chemical common in aspirin and other over-the-counter drugs. The medical examiner declined to conduct an autopsy on the boy, making it difficult to determine how the drug ended up in the boy's system. A
Keep reading