Bacon slaying revenge inevitable,

 

Police are on high alert after receiving intelligence about possible retaliation for the August execution in Kelowna of Red Scorpion gangster Jonathan Bacon and the wounding of others with gang associations. Supt. Tom McCluskie, who heads the Gang Task Force, said Wednesday that tensions between rival gangs have increased exponentially since the Aug. 14 slaying of Bacon and shooting of full-patch Hells Angel Larry Amero and Independent Soldier James Riach. The niece of the Haney Hells Angel president was paralyzed in the attack by masked gunmen. McCluskie said it is "no longer a question of if retaliation will occur, but when." He said law enforcement agencies in the Okanagan and across the Lower Mainland are working together to head off further violence. A special meeting to discuss the tensions was held Tuesday between the Gang Task Force, which is part of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, Surrey RCMP and municipal officers from Vancouver, Abbotsford and Delta. A dedicated team of 65 officers will be working around the clock to prevent more violence, McCluskie said. "We simply said this is the situation, and this is the help we are looking for, and everybody is willing to pitch in," he said. McCluskie said the unease exists between the Hells Angels and their associated gangs, including the Independent Soldiers, and the United Nations on the other side, as well as the Duhre brothers of Abbotsford and allies of the late Gurmit Singh Dhak, who was gunned down at Metrotown mall last October. "As these groups all try to determine who's responsible for the shooting in Kelowna, all these conspiracies and theories are born, and as a result, tension is building," McCluskie said. "What happened in Kelowna can clearly happen again at any time in any place. A lot of these guys are opportunist. They have got people out hunting all the time - looking for rival gang members. And given the tension right now, that is something we want to get in front of . There are people obviously angry and looking for revenge." McCluskie said his officers have issued several "duties to warn" in recent weeks, where police are obliged to tell a gangster or associate about threats that might exist to harm them. None of those who survived the August shooting are cooperating with police, McCluskie said. No one has yet been arrested for the daytime ambush outside a posh lakeside hotel. "Our primary objective is, and always has been, the safety of the general public. The wanton and callous disregard for the safety of innocent bystanders was clearly demonstrated during the Kelowna incident and we as the police, must do everything we can to prevent further acts of violence and retaliation," McCluskie said. "We are not slowing down and these gang members have to know that the streets of B.C. are not theirs and our officers will make that message very, very clear to them."