A man accused of shooting his boss to death at a 2008 Christmas party also deliberately took aim at another employee who had fled the building, a court heard Monday.
Matthew Kyritsis of TallGrass Distribution Ltd. told B.C. Supreme Court Monday that he sat in on a meeting on Dec. 11, 2008, at which his boss Ben Banky fired warehouse employee Eric Kirkpatrick.
The next day at about 4 p.m., as employees were getting ready for a “Secret Santa” Christmas party, Kyritsis said he heard a woman yell: “Eric’s here and he’s got a gun!”
Kyritsis said he warned “everyone to run and get out through the warehouse” but heard a shot ring out.
“I believe by the time I exited the building, I heard two more gunshots.”
Kyritsis said that once outside, he looked up at the office and “I was surprised to see Eric Kirkpatrick standing in front of the window.”
“He was holding a long gun, a single barrel shotgun, with both hands at waist level, with the muzzle in his left hand. He saw me, we made eye contact.
“Then he aimed the gun down and across the street toward me.”
Kyritsis said Kirkpatrick appeared to be sliding open a window to get a better shot at him so Kyritsis took refuge behind a parked vehicle.
Police soon cordoned off the building and bused away employees.
After an hour’s negotiations, Kirkpatrick, then 61, agreed to surrender his gun to police, but TallGrass Distribution Ltd. owner Ben Banky lay dead on his office floor from several gunshot wounds.
Banky, 40, was married. He and business partner Matthew Breech, who was in court Monday, founded the health-products company 14 years ago.
A friend of Mayor Gregor Robertson, a successful entrepreneur and a fluent Mandarin speaker who launched his business in China importing hemp products, Banky was the well-liked head of the growing manufacturing and importing firm.
Several employees took the stand Monday to testify that Kirkpatrick, who was much older than them, was often testy and impatient.
Sean Smith said Kirkpatrick took offence when offered help, on one occasion shoving Smith, then refusing to apologize to him.
“He threw his fair share of tantrums and hissy fits,” testified Smith.
Kirkpatrick, who had worked in the warehouse for 14 months, blamed fellow warehouse employees after he got a poor performance review, two days before the shooting.
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