A community forum will be held in Abbotsford next week to try to ease the fears of anxious residents after a 74-year-old man was killed by a stray bullet on Wednesday night.
The man, according to police, was the unintended victim of an ongoing feud between two rival gangs.
Sgt. Jennifer Pound with the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said he was a family man who leaves behind many grieving family members and was “a true victim.” She did not identify the man at the time.
Neighbours of the victim told Global News they would often see him playing outside with his grandchildren and was an innocent victim.
Residents who live in the area are no strangers to Abbotsford police. A surveillance camera was set up earlier this year because of concerns of the growing violence between two rival groups.
Both politicians and neighbours are looking for solutions before another innocent bystander is killed.
“All of us need to be concerned about this and for the present, we need the people who know something about this to come forward,” Abbotsford South Liberal MLA Darryl Plecas said.
“You know police can’t be doing these things on their own especially when we’re talking about gang violence.”
Abbotsford Police went to the 3500-block of Promontory Court around 7:15 p.m. Wednesday after receiving reports of shots fired.
They arrived to find a vehicle in a driveway with what appeared to be bullet holes and a man located outside a nearby home suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Abbotsford police have not made any arrests in the shooting.
A safety forum will be held Thursday night at the Abbotsford Arts Centre.
WATCH: The 74-year-old victim of the Abbotsford shooting isn’t the first person to lose his life to gangland violence. John Daly reports.
~ with files from Grace Ke and Jon Azpiri
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