Dozens of Yaletown residents came together for a community BBQ this afternoon to honour a local business owner and well respected member of the community.
Attendees wore yellow ribbons to show their support of 52-year-old bike shop owner Paul Dragan, who was shot in broad daylight in front of a Starbucks on Davie Street and Marinaside Crescent last Tuesday.
Event organizer Annette O’Shea with the Yaletown Business Improvement Association says their community was left ‘wounded and hurting’ by the incident.
She says their tight-knit community has been shaken and needs to feel grounded again.
“You hurt one member of our community, everybody else is a little bit hurt as well,” she says.
O’Shea says a number of residents who were in the area Tuesday morning rushed to Dragan’s help in the moments after the shooting.
Among them — Dr. Clifford Chase, who works at the Aquarius Medical Clinic.
He was near the scene when the shooting happened.
Chase kept Dragan’s airway open and helped put in an IV when the paramedics arrived.
Today, Dragan’s son Maximilian told Global News his father owes his life to Chase.
“I’d like to extend my gratitude to Dr. Chase for saving my daddy’s life,” he said.
Maximilian says his father is doing much better and is a bit more stable now.
“I am proud to say that he is with us today and alive.”
Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu also dropped by to sign the giant get-well card for Dragan.
It is alleged the suspect — 61-year-old Gerald Battersby who is a former employee of Dragan — fired shots at a number of police officers during a shootout near Science World that followed Dragan’s shooting in Yaletown.
One officer received minor injuries from shattered glass when her police cruiser was shot at.
“Vancouver is a safe city, but unfortunately these incidents do happen,” says Chu. “What we have seen today is the community saying we are still going to enjoy our city.”
Battersby has been charged with six counts of attempted murder, one for the attempted murder of Dragan and five counts of attempted murder in relation to police officers involved.
His court date has been put over until Monday as he is expected to remain in hospital until at least the end of this week.
With files from John Daly
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