Homicide investigators probe shooting death of 14-year-old in Surrey

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“I even warned them, you know, there’s a lot of shootings in town,” he said. “This boy could get shot one day or something (…) and of course that’s what happened.”

Weisgarber insisted Willis’s age be prioritized in media coverage, frequently comparing the gang violence in Surrey to that of South American countries.

“There’s children down there being shot every day,” he said. “We’re no different than they are. Why are we trying to pretend that we don’t have children being shot here? He was only 14.”

Willis is believed to be the youngest victim of gang violence in B.C. history. Alfred Wong, the Coquitlam teenager caught by crossfire at East Broadway  and Ontario in Vancouver on Jan. 13, 2018, was 15.

Sgt. Frank Jang of IHIT said the shooting is believed to be a targeted incident.

A dark sedan was seen quickly leaving the area afterward, Jang said, and investigators are working to determine whether a vehicle fire near 214 Street and 76 Avenue in Langley is related to the homicide. A burning vehicle was reported to Langley RCMP around 8 p.m.

The teenager arrived in the area by taxi, police said, and the taxi driver is co-operating with the investigation.

Jang said IHIT will be working closely with Surrey and Langley RCMP and the B.C. Coroners Service as they work to determine a motive and make arrests.

“Most of us cannot begin to fathom that someone as young as 14-years-old could be shot and murdered; it’s very disturbing,” said Sgt. Elenore Sturko of the Surrey RCMP. “There will be an overt presence of police in the community with an increased number of officers conducting targeted enforcement across the city.”