Three men have been charged in connection with a double homicide and kidnapping in East Vancouver on the weekend.
According to information obtained from the court registry, Harinam Ananda Cox, 21, Shamil Amir Ali, 22, and Gopal Figueredo, 24, have been charged with four offences. The offences are kidnapping without the use of a firearm, unlawful confinement or imprisonment, extortion and aggravated assault.
Vancouver police’s emergency response team was called to a home in the 100-block Dieppe Place shortly before 10 p.m. on Saturday to respond to an abduction call. When officers saw that the lights were on but no one appeared to be home, they decided to enter the house. Inside, they found the bodies of 29-year-old Samantha Le and 24-year-old Xuan Vanvy Bacao, a terrified four-year-old child and evidence of a kidnapping.
On Monday afternoon, in a dramatic takedown on East 8th Avenue near Blair Avenue in New Westminster, police rescued the kidnap victim and arrested three men. During the arrest, two innocent bystanders were injured.
Police believe the murders and abduction were targeted incidents. The homicide victims, the child and the kidnap victim all lived in the house where Le and Bacao were found dead.
The investigation remains ongoing and police are still hunting for other suspects.
Court records show people matching the names of Ali and Figueredo have lengthy records. Ali’s previous charges include assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm, theft of motor vehicle, possession of stolen property, assaulting a peace officer, robbery and mischief. Figueredo’s record includes aggravated assault, possession of a firearm, robbery with the use of a restricted or prohibited weapon and break and enter to steal a firearm.
On Wednesday, the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. announced that it was investigating Monday’s arrest because a male bystander suffered serious injuries. According to police, the man started running away when he heard the flash bangs and was bitten by a police dog.
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B.C.’s Independent Investigation Office has been called in after innocent bystanders were injured during a dramatic Vancouver police takedown related to a double homicide and kidnapping on Monday. Vancouver Police were called to a house on Dieppe Place overnight for a possible homicide.
The IIO investigates all police-related incidents that result in serious harm or death and its job is to determine if any officer may have committed an offence that resulted in the bystander being injured. IIO investigators will be interviewing any civilian witnesses and involved officers.
The Vancouver Police Department is responsible for any concurrent investigation.
A female bystander was also injured when her vehicle was struck, but the IIO is not investigating that incident because her injuries do not meet the criteria for serious harm.
Police apologized to both of the bystanders during a news conference on Tuesday.
Anyone with information about the homicides is asked to call the Vancouver Police Homicide Unit at 604-717-2500 or anonymously at Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
— With files from Cheryl Chan
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B.C.’s Independent Investigation Office has been called in after innocent bystanders were injured during a dramatic Vancouver police takedown related to a double homicide and kidnapping on Monday. Vancouver Police were called to a house on Dieppe Place overnight for a possible homicide.
Clik here to view.
