Vancouver police are lauding family members, investigators and prosecutors who "did not give up" in finding justice for teenager Alfred Wong, who was killed by a stray bullet in 2018.
The police reaction comes after Kane Carter was handed concurrent lifetime jail sentences for two counts of second-degree murder in the death of Wong.
The BC Prosecution Service says Carter is eligible to apply for parole after 17 years, and he was also issued a mandatory lifetime firearms ban and a DNA order.
Fifteen-year-old Wong died after being struck by a bullet fired in a shootout between gang rivals on Vancouver's busy Broadway thoroughfare on Jan. 13, 2018, while returning from dinner with his family in the back seat of a car.
Carter was convicted last December after his first trial ended in a mistrial in September 2024 with the jury deadlocked.
Vancouver Police Inspector Mike Heard says In a statement that Carter's lifetime prison sentence "was the best we could hope for" but adds that no prison term can "adequately reflect the toll taken in this case."
Heard says Wong was "caught in the crossfire of a violent gang dispute," and his death was "needless" and "unacceptable."
"Many on the team, including me, are parents ourselves," Heard says. "We took Alfred’s murder personally and continue to share in the family’s grief.
"It will hopefully send a message to anyone bringing weapons and violent intent onto the streets of Vancouver — regardless of how long it takes, you will pay a price."
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby
