Publication title: Edmonton Journal
Pages: A7 Section: Canada
Dateline: Vancouver
Publication date: Feb 6, 2000
Copyright: Copyright Southam Publications Inc. Feb 6, 2000
Author: Greg Middleton, Wendy McLellan
A teenage boy was killed and three others badly wounded early Saturday at a dance marking the Chinese New Year.
One 17-year-old boy was shot to death.
A second was shot and critically wounded and a 15-year-old girl was shot in the foot.
Another young man was found nearby, so badly beaten that police arriving at the scene thought he has been shot too.
A man named Thompson Nguyen and his wife booked the Fraserview Hall in South Vancouver last Wednesday.
They said they wanted to hold a dance to celebrate the new year, according to Neil Khanna, whose family owns the hall on Fraser Street.
"He assured us it was a family affair," Khanna said.
"He said it was a last-minute decision, and we thought it was great to get the booking. You take what you can." But on Friday night, Khanna got the feeling the dance was more than a family event when he saw an ad promoting a rave.
"We wouldn't have given them the hall if we had known it was a rave -- we don't feel comfortable with those kinds of events," he said.
Police say about 200 people were at the party. They're looking into the possibility the shooting started with a clash between rival Vietnamese gang members.
The dead teen was of Vietnamese origin, and the dance was advertised in English and Vietnamese.
Const. Anne Drennan of the Vancouver police said the shooting started with an altercation in the hall.
The gunmen then apparently chased the victims out to their red Ford Escort, which was parked in a lot next door to the club.
It looked like the gunman or men tried to break into the car, kicking at the door and kicking in the driver's side window before shooting the teens in the car.
Police found one dead and the other in critical condition, both shot a number of times.
Masterplan Productions was hired late last week by Nguyen to set up the lighting sound system for the dance, said production manager Justin Margerison.
He said Nguyen told him the dance was organized by the Vietnamese Arts Association. There is no such association listed in Vancouver.
When the shooting started, most of the people fled. By mid-day on Saturday police had only been able to talk to about a dozen witnesses.
After hearing the shots at the hall, a gas station attendant at a nearby Esso station looked out to see a customer trying to help a badly injured man in the station's lot.
Police are still trying to figure out how the beaten man at the gas station fits into the bloody events at the dance hall. Both the young man who was shot and the beating victim are under guard in hospital.
Publication date: Feb 6, 2000
Copyright: Copyright Southam Publications Inc. Feb 6, 2000
Author: Greg Middleton, Wendy McLellan
A teenage boy was killed and three others badly wounded early Saturday at a dance marking the Chinese New Year.
One 17-year-old boy was shot to death.
A second was shot and critically wounded and a 15-year-old girl was shot in the foot.
Another young man was found nearby, so badly beaten that police arriving at the scene thought he has been shot too.
A man named Thompson Nguyen and his wife booked the Fraserview Hall in South Vancouver last Wednesday.
They said they wanted to hold a dance to celebrate the new year, according to Neil Khanna, whose family owns the hall on Fraser Street.
"He assured us it was a family affair," Khanna said.
"He said it was a last-minute decision, and we thought it was great to get the booking. You take what you can." But on Friday night, Khanna got the feeling the dance was more than a family event when he saw an ad promoting a rave.
"We wouldn't have given them the hall if we had known it was a rave -- we don't feel comfortable with those kinds of events," he said.
Police say about 200 people were at the party. They're looking into the possibility the shooting started with a clash between rival Vietnamese gang members.
The dead teen was of Vietnamese origin, and the dance was advertised in English and Vietnamese.
Const. Anne Drennan of the Vancouver police said the shooting started with an altercation in the hall.
The gunmen then apparently chased the victims out to their red Ford Escort, which was parked in a lot next door to the club.
It looked like the gunman or men tried to break into the car, kicking at the door and kicking in the driver's side window before shooting the teens in the car.
Police found one dead and the other in critical condition, both shot a number of times.
Masterplan Productions was hired late last week by Nguyen to set up the lighting sound system for the dance, said production manager Justin Margerison.
He said Nguyen told him the dance was organized by the Vietnamese Arts Association. There is no such association listed in Vancouver.
When the shooting started, most of the people fled. By mid-day on Saturday police had only been able to talk to about a dozen witnesses.
After hearing the shots at the hall, a gas station attendant at a nearby Esso station looked out to see a customer trying to help a badly injured man in the station's lot.
Police are still trying to figure out how the beaten man at the gas station fits into the bloody events at the dance hall. Both the young man who was shot and the beating victim are under guard in hospital.
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