VANCOUVER - Vancouver police say there is no gang war going on in the city, despite two more "targeted" murders Tuesday and a series of brazen public shootings that have already claimed the lives of two bystanders.
Still, the force is forming a gang-violence task force in addition to being part of an existing integrated gang unit operated by the RCMP.
Four people have been gunned down this week alone, with the latest attack occurring at about 2:15 a.m. Tuesday morning.
Two men were killed as their silver Mercedes was boxed in by two SUVs and peppered with bullets on Granville Street, one of Vancouver's main thoroughfares.
Ronal Shakeel Raj, 31, of Surrey, and Ali Ahbari, 25, of Kelowna, were killed.
On Saturday, a reputed leader of the Big Circle Boys gang was shot dead outside his upscale mansion and another man was killed in a restaurant shooting last week.
Gunfire also erupted at two Vancouver eateries this past summer, killing two in one of the attacks.
Last month, six men were murdered in a suburban Surrey apartment that was a reputed drug den. Police say two of them were innocent victims who apparently got in the way.
At a news conference Tuesday, Deputy Police Chief Bob Rich said the gang problem is the department's No. 1 priority and the new task force aims to send a clear message to gangsters.
"We are going to be watching them very closely and they might want to reconsider their options,'' Rich said.
"The public needs to know we're going to take every step to ensure their safety.''
Rich said the task force "will be a very much an in-your-face'' unit.
"It will be confronting people who are gangsters, who are moving about the streets. We'll be checking on where they live,'' he said.
Despite calls from some law enforcement officials for a regional police force to deal with the growing drug-fuelled gang problem in the Vancouver area, Rich said his department is trying to keep citizens safe by forming the new task force.
"Every municipality has to find a way to keep its streets safe,'' he said. "The task force is about a pro-active street-level response.''
Rich called for more funding to tackle the gang problem that he said has escalated with the influx of more illegal handguns from the United States.
"We're going to have to find some way of reducing the flow of handguns into Canada,'' he said.
Deputy Chief Doug LePard said drugs are the cause of fights in most cases and some of the people involved are known gang members, although the homicides are not necessarily related.
What's troubling is that unsophisticated gangsters are packing guns to settle even relatively minor disputes over everything from women and drugs to taking offence at something said by a rival gang member, LePard said.
Several gangs are involved, including the UN Gang -- so named because of its ethnic diversity -- but LePard declined to name any others.
"They're very cavalier about their use of violence and use of firearms in settling their disputes,'' he said. "We are very fortunate that we have not had more innocent victims caught in the crossfire.''
LePard said the provincial government needs to provide kids with early-prevention education in school so they aren't lured into a flashy gang lifestyle of fancy cars and upscale homes that could get them killed.
He said he was at the scene of the shooting Tuesday and saw the bullet-riddled bodies of the two men,who were known to police.
"They didn't look glamorous at all, so those who think that the gang lifestyle is for them I think they need to think about what the odds are of ending up like those two young men.''
Mayor Sam Sullivan said he met with federal Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day on Monday to discuss more funding for the province from both the federal and provincial governments.
"We've seen the federal and provincial governments rolling in surpluses and each of these governments have been giving significant tax cuts,'' he said. "Meanwhile, municipalities are struggling with all of the pressures on their budgets."
Prime Minister Stephen Harper used the latest spasm of violence in Vancouver to push the opposition in Parliament to let the Conservative government's tough-on-crime legislation get through the House.
"The various anti-crime measures the government brought forward in the first session that the opposition dragged their feet on, some of these measures would be relevant, particularly on gun crime,'' Harper said in Golden, B.C., after announcing new infrastructure funding for the province.
He said the Tracking Violent Crime Act includes mandatory prison sentences for gun crime.
"I know that provinces, mayors and other jurisdictions across the country have been calling for this,'' Harper said.
"I urge the opposition to pass this quickly so we can get this done and move on with a series of measures to deal with gun gang and drug violence.''
Premier Gordon Campbell said the situation in Vancouver is "a concern for all of us," adding he'd welcome hearing from the mayor and those of other jurisdictions in the Lower Mainland if they want an integrated task force.
Sullivan said he's open to a regional police force to deal with Vancouver's growing gang problem.
"The drug problem is an international problem, it goes far beyond the boundaries of any one municipality,'' he said. "I don't know if regional policing is the answer; I think it's worth exploring.''
Sullivan said drug addicts are feeding the gang violence problem and that people hooked on drugs need treatment to stop the cycle.
"If these people were given an opportunity to not fund the criminal gangs, that would result in less profits to the drug trade,'' he said.
B.C. Solicitor General John Les said the province has a police team that's strong enough to fight gang crime in the Vancouver area.
He rejected calls from the police community to form a metro police unit devoted to fighting gangland crime.
He said there are 900 more police officers in British Columbia than there were five years ago and 600 officers who are part of an integrated crime-fighting unit.
"We're attacking this on a number of fronts,'' he said. "We're doing everything that's possible to be done.''
The issue spilled into the B.C. legislature Tuesday, with NDP Leader Carole James attacking Les's rejection of a regional police force.
"With gangland killings on the rise, why is the solicitor general, (who) has no policing experience, attacking people like (West Vancouver) Chief Const. (Kash) Heed without even listening to them?'' said James, referring to an opinion piece Heed wrote this week on the subject.
James said Vancouver-area residents, faced with yet more gun violence, would say there's room for improvement and it's not out of line for veteran officers like Heed to suggest it's time to discuss a regional force.
James also attacked the government's anti-gang strategy but Les said British Columbia has one of the most advanced police information-sharing systems in North America.
"We invested $40 million in that program,'' said Les. "What did the Opposition do -- they voted against that innovation.''
