The two men who were shot and killed in the Langley, B.C., shooting spree on Monday have now been identified.
Paul David Wynn, 60, died outside Creek Stone Place. Steven Furness, 43, died at the Langley bus loop.
In a statement to the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT), Wynn’s family said “Paul was the poster child of the family he worked so hard for everything he had.”
Furness’s family described his death as hopefully shining “a spotlight on the plight of the homeless and vulnerable in society. Love from your family.”
Wynn’s brother spoke to Global News Wednesday, saying Wynn had a difficult life but was working hard on turning it around.
“The housing society group, the one in Langley where he was shot and brutally killed, they saved his life,” John Wynn said in an emotional interview.
“He was not homeless. He had a beautiful home.… He didn’t deserve to go out this way.”
The Wynns grew up in Surrey’s Whalley neighbourhood, where John said Paul excelled at school and was well known and liked.
“He was amazing. He was the God-child of our family. Everyone knew him. He worked hard from day one,” John said.
“He was just unbelievable. Everyone – ‘Oh, you want me to fix your engine? Boom, I’ll build your engine. I’ll do you brakes.’ Anything. It’s how we were raised — to take care of other people.”
Paul eventually worked his way up to management with a food supply company, had a son and appeared to be “set for life,” John said.
That was before addiction tore his life apart.
“That was it, his life changed. We tried everything to help him when he was living on the streets,” John said. “We lost contact with him, and he lost everything he lived for.”
Two other people were also shot in the shooting rampage early Monday morning.
A woman, age 26, remains in critical condition, IHIT said Thursday. The man with non-life-threatening injuries is also 26 years old. Both are still in the hospital.
IHIT continues to investigate and is gathering information to formulate possible motives in the shooting.
“We’ve learned that there are those in the community looking for their friends and loved ones wondering if they were victims,” Sgt. David Lee of IHIT said in a release. “We hope that this identification helps the public awareness of who was involved and to assess if there are other(s) unaccounted for.”
Many key questions remain about the shooting spree that left Wynn dead, but police have identified the suspect as Jordan Daniel Goggin, 28.
Police believe Goggin shot his first victim, a woman, near the Cascades Casino around midnight. She remains in critical condition in hospital. Wynn was the second victim, followed by another fatal shooting at the Langley bus loop around 5 a.m.
According to police, Goggin shot a man in the leg near the Langley Bypass and 200th Street, before he was engaged by police who shot him dead.
In the wake of the tragic incident, John said the provincial government needs to “step up” and do more to help people with mental health problems.
He said he will also be starting a mental health society in his brother’s name to try and fill some of the gaps in government services. In the meantime, he is left with memories, including of the last voicemail Paul left for him.
“I was kicking myself today, I deleted the message. I wish I never did. The saddest part is I could have done more and been there for him more but I wasn’t. But if I keep holding that more, it’s going to kill me more.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the IHIT Information Line at 1-877-551-IHIT (4448) or by email.
-with files from Simon Little