Coroner's inquest into deadly Surrey hostage incident to begin this week

Nona McEwan and Randy Crosson have been identified as the people killed following a hostage situation in Surrey.

A coroner's inquest into a deadly 2019 hostage situation in Surrey is scheduled to begin this week.

A jury is expected to hear evidence from witnesses under oath to determine the facts of the case that dates back to March 29, 2019, where the hostage and hostage-taker were both killed by police gun fire.

The inquest was initially scheduled to begin on Monday, but an update shared on the inquest's website that morning said it would instead begin Tuesday.

According to a 2020 report from the Independent Investigations Office of B.C., Nona McEwan, 45, and Randy Crosson, 48, were killed when a 10-hour standoff with police at a home in the Central City area ended after six members of an RCMP emergency response team entered the home and fired their weapons 42 times.

That same IIO report, found no grounds for charges against the officers involved after video and audio recordings were reviewed, as well as statements from civilian witnesses, paramedics and more than three dozen police officers.

The inquest will examine what led to the fatal incident and what changes, if any, can be made to prevent similar situations from occurring.

The jury cannot make any findings of legal responsibility.