Months after a man was shot multiple times in a Richmond park, charges have been laid against two suspects – though only one is in police custody.
The victim, who is described by authorities as a well-known gang associate, was targeted by gunfire in the city’s Dover Park area on the evening of Aug. 21.
He was found suffering multiple gunshot wounds at a nearby gas station that night and taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
On Monday, more than four months after the crime, B.C.’s anti-gang task force announced charges have been laid against two suspected gunmen: 20-year-old Richmond resident Thomas Duong and 31-year-old Burnaby man Sahand Askari.
“These two offenders showed a complete disregard for public safety by discharging a firearm in a populated residential area,” Kevin Hacket, Chief Officer of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, said in a release.
The CFSEU said both men are charged with attempted murder while using a restricted firearm, but Askari is believed to be outside Canada and is not in police custody.
A country-wide warrant has been issued for his arrest.
Authorities said Duong was already in custody on an unrelated matter when the attempted murder charge against him was approved.
