'THIS IS NOT OVER'

The smoke had barely cleared from a local park before cellphones lit
up with crew members looking for more weapons and ammunition, as well
as bullet-proof vests, according to a source.

"Already there were calls around the street for ammunition to be
bought. The minute it happened my cellphone and other cellphones lit
up. This crew is gearing up for another round," said the man, who
used to be involved in gangs and claims to know two of the three men
who were shot.

"This is not over. And it wasn't the beginning either," he added.

A shootout in Dover Park Thursday night left three men with bullet
wounds. The source said the incident was a vendetta for a North
Vancouver shooting which, in turn, was a retaliation for a New
Westminster shooting.

Richmond RCMP spokesman Cpl. Peter Thiessen confirmed that police are
investigating whether the Richmond incident is linked to other
incidents that have occurred in the Lower Mainland over the past few months.

According to the source, two of the men shot are Iranian, but he
added, "this is not an Iranian gang per se. There may be an Iranian
crew leader, but there are also Chinese, Caucasian, a mix of
everything. The only real bond they have is the sale of crack cocaine."

About this particular dispute, he said, "I know it's not over turf
but over money ... somebody owed someone else money and to resolve
the issue they met up at Dover Crescent ready for a fire fight."

But one group was more ready than the other - all three victims were
from the same crew, according the source.

"They (the ones who were shot) were armed but they didn't know what
they were up against."

Police found between 100 and 150 spent casings, six firearms, four
semi-automatic handguns of various calibre and two semi-automatic
assault rifles - and that's just what was left at the scene.

Six housing complexes have bullet holes in them, as do a number of
cars. Stray bullets also sprayed the adjacent City Works Yard.

"It was after-hours so no city employees were working there, but
that's a busy location," said Thiessen, who also confirmed residents
were out walking in the area at the time, just after 7 p.m.

"It's only by the grace of God that nobody got killed and nobody got
injured that wasn't directly involved with this shooting," Thiessen said.

Yesterday, Thiessen confirmed that the three victims are also suspects.

"Let's make it clear, these are suspects first and victims second."

They have been entirely unco-operative with police, he added.

Two of them have serious but not life-threatening injuries. The third
has minor injuries. One of the three has left the hospital against
his doctor's advice.

Thiessen said, "the likelihood that this is gang involvement is high.
This certainly was not a random act.

"The individuals involved knew exactly what they were doing and what
interaction they were having with one another."

The source said those involved call themselves crews, not gangs.

A "crew" is a smaller, more versatile and less established criminal group.

"They don't distinguish themselves with names or logos. It's not like
a gang where once you're in you're in.

"How they operate is, 'this is the guy who makes us money, he's head
of the crew'... but they're constantly changing their allegiances."

These crews have various "lines," meaning illegal business ventures
such as credit card fraud or selling drugs, usually crack cocaine,
said the source.

While the shooting may have shocked the city, getting shot will
probably do little to change the suspects' ways.

"Getting shot is street credit," said the source. "They'll think, 'if
I can get through it once, I can get through it twice. It pumps him
up, makes him think he's even more invincible than he was before."

Over the past 72 hours, 135 officers from various agencies, including
the Integrated Gang Task Force and the Vancouver Police Department as
well as the Richmond RCMP have been involved in the investigation.

This is not the first shooting residents of Dover Crescent have seen
in the last couple of years. In March 2005, Mark Thrower, 37, was
shot in the hallway outside his fourth floor condo at 5880 Dover Cres.

Thrower, a former Steveston secondary football star, was shot the day
before he was to appear in B.C. Supreme Court accused of murdering
Lotus gang member Raymond Chan, whose body was found behind the
Richmond provincial courthouse two years earlier.