Police in Abbotsford say they are taking tough measures to deal with a community under siege by gang violence.
More than 400 worried residents packed a public meeting Monday night to hear a plan by police and the mayor to deal with the problem.
The mayor unveiled a crime reduction task force in response to three shootings in the community last week, including a brazen shooting in a busy intersection during rush hour. The target of that shooting was known gangster Jamie Bacon, one of three Abbotsford brothers who are facing multiple criminal charges.
Police Chief Bob Rich told residents that police are doing everything to keep Bacon and his potentially dangerous two brothers under surveillance, including convincing one company to revoke car leases for the brothers.
Rich and Mayor George Peary are encouraging local businesses to shun the brothers and refuse service to any known gangsters.
Police admit violence has doubled in the Fraser Valley community in the last five years and say tackling drugs and gang crime is a priority.
But there seems to be no easy answer when it comes to figuring out what will help. Some residents told the meeting that better school programs are needed to address the problem. Others suggested harsher jail sentences for known gangsters, and say the higher levels of government need to enforce tougher penalties against criminals.
"The problem is we have too many prisoners walking the streets in Abbotsford that should be in prison," one resident told the forum. "They're being let off."
The Abbotsford Police are asking for more resources to address the growing problem.
"The sharks are circling. They have been allowed to get away with stuff for far too long -- they really are circling," said Abbotsford Police Chief Bob Rich.
But Rich says the police can only do so much to stop gang crime.
"The sad part is the police won't be the ones there when the ends arise -- the other gang members will be. They have entered into a lifestyle that has only one ending. That's what's happening."
The meeting also heard from family members who had their relatives murdered in gang warfare more than a year ago.
Abbotsford resident Ed Schellenberg and Chris Mohan, 22, were both killed when gunmen stormed a Surrey apartment and shot four people known to police.
The men happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and their families are still waiting for justice.
"We lived very innocently beside gang members," said Mohan's mother Eileen. "We did not know who was living beside us. To see each one of you here tells me you will not stand for gang violence."
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Reshmi Nair
