The first murder victim of 2014 in Abbotsford, B.C., is a prominent gang leader with a lengthy criminal past, and investigators believe his death was targeted.
Matthew Gordon Campbell, who heads B.C.’s Red Scorpions gang, stumbled into an Enterprise Rent-a-Car on Automall Drive Thursday afternoon suffering from severe stab wounds to his neck. The 31-year-old pleaded for help before collapsing.
Abbotsford police and first responders swarmed the auto mall after staffed called 911. Campbell was airlifted to hospital but died less than an hour later.
The case has been taken over by the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.
"Mr. Campbell is known to police. He has a history of gang affiliation," IHIT Sgt. Adam MacIntosh said. "Indications at this point in the investigation suggest this was not a random incident."
Police believe Campbell was assaulted somewhere nearby but aren’t sure if it happened on the street, in a parking lot or in a vehicle nearby. Officers could be seen combing through bushes and treed areas outside the rental agency. It’s not known if they have retrieved any kind of weapon.
Campbell, an Abbotsford resident, took over the Red Scorpions from founder and former leader Jamie Bacon after his incarceration.
Members of the gang are accused in the 2007 Surrey Six slayings, one of the biggest mass murders in B.C. history. A lengthy trial is underway for those deaths, while Jamie Bacon is still awaiting his proceedings. The slayings were part of a bloody gang war that played out across B.C. for several years and claimed many lives.
Police are now looking for any surveillance video from local businesses and canvassing for witnesses in hopes of finding the person responsible for Campbell’s death.
Homicide investigators are also working closely with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit and the provincial intelligence centre to identify gang members who may have interacted with Campbell.
“We get into that person’s life, who they were associated with, who they may have been in conflict with,” Sgt. MacIntosh told CTV News.
“When you’re dealing with an investigation that may have associations with people who are involved in criminal activity that can provide unique challenges over and above what we may normally see.”
Anyone with information is urged to contact police.
