The head of B.C.'s gang task force says that police were caught unaware by the daytime shooting in Kelowna this weekend that ended with the death of Jonathan Bacon.
Supt. Pat Fogarty of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit says the Red Scorpions gangster made a lot of enemies during a violent dispute with the UN gang two years ago, but investigators had no advance knowledge of Sunday's shooting.
"If someone would have let us know specifically we would have acted on it, but we didn't get that information. Could've, would've, should've," Fogarty told CTV News.
Full-patch White Rock Hells Angel Larry Amero was critically injured in the shooting at the Delta Grand hotel, the niece of the president of the Haney chapter was wounded and a member of the Independent Soldiers was also said to be injured.
Police were aware that the gangsters had recently formed a drug-trafficking alliance called the Wolf Pack.
Bacon was on bail at the time of his death as he awaited trial on gun charges dating back to 2005, but there was nothing in his conditions preventing him from associating with the Hells Angels or other gangsters. Police say they have no evidence that Bacon was in breach of his conditions, which did prevent him from possessing firearms.
Former B.C. solicitor general Kash Heed says that even if Bacon was not breaching his conditions, alarm bells should have gone off when a group of high-profile gangsters were seen together in Kelowna.
"You can't let law enforcement off with this. You have to hold them accountable to deal with this problem. You've got three people that we've been aware of for several years involved in violent activity that are on our streets in British Columbia. We have to be aware of where they are, what they're doing, who they're associating with," he said.
Const. Doug Spencer, formerly a gang investigator with the Vancouver Police Department, says that retaliation for the shooting is almost inevitable.
"You're almost certain that's going to happen -- especially shooting at the daughter or the niece of the patch. They're old school. They may be criminals, but they don't believe in shooting wives and kids," he said. "I can only imagine what's going to happen. The sad news is it could happen anywhere."
One of the injured people -- believed to be Independent Soldier James Riach -- fled the scene of the shooting and has not been located by investigators.
Ford Explorer sought in shooting investigation
Police released surveillance photos Tuesday of an SUV that may be connected to the execution shooting.
Mounties are asking members of the public to call in with any information they have about a newer model "silver/green" Ford Explorer seen around the Okanagan city this weekend.
Investigators are calling the SUV a "vehicle of interest" in the shooting, but witnesses at the scene reported that shooting suspects emerged from a vehicle with a similar description moments before gunfire erupted.
On Sunday night, a burned-out Explorer was found on a back road between Winfield and Vernon, but police have not confirmed whether it is related to the shooting.
Anyone with information about the vehicle shown in the surveillance photos is asked to call Kelowna RCMP or Crime Stoppers.
