Two Of Six Surrey Murder Victims Were Innocents Caught In Gang Hit

Tuesday October 23, 2007

CityNews.ca Staff

Details of a mystery that's captivated Canadians coast to coast came to light Tuesday, when police identified six men murdered in a suburban Surrey, B.C. apartment last week, adding two were not only victims of an alleged gang hit, but also of very bad timing.

According to the RCMP the victims are 55-year-old Edward Schellenberg of Abbotsford, 22-year-old Chris Mohan, 22-year-old Edward Narong, 21-year-old Corey Lal and his 26-year-old brother Michael and 19-year-old Ryan Bartolomeo, all of Surrey.

"These murders are an outrageous act of violence perpetrated on individuals, at least two of whom were in the wrong place at the wrong time," said RCMP assistant commissioner Peter German.

Schellenberg was perhaps the most unlucky of all six, caught in the building while servicing its gas fireplaces. Authorities also suggest Mohan was an innocent victim in what appears to be a targeted gang hit, though it's not known what he was doing at the scene.

Police say four of the six victims led a criminal lifestyle which likely involved a combination of guns, gangs, drugs and violence and continue to probe the multiple murders, with a six-team integrated investigation involving 48 detectives.

The grisly scene was discovered Friday afternoon by firefighters and hazardous-materials workers who were responding to reports of a gas leak. What they found in the 15th-floor apartment was quickly turned over to homicide investigators.

"The nature of the murders leave us with the opinion that this murder was not a random event," said Fraser McRae, chief superintendent of RCMP's E Division. "Certainly this level of violence is something Canadians do not and will not tolerate."

RCMP officials have said few further details will be released in order to preserve the integrity of their investigation.