Hit-and-run may be linked to earlier fatal Surrey shooting, police say
Nine-year-old mourns loss of 'best dad anyone could ever have'
CBC News
Posted: May 18, 2009 6:07 PM PT
Last Updated: May 18, 2009 6:07 PM PT
Police cordoned off the area around the Clover Inn Motor Hotel on Sunday as they carried out their investigation. (CBC) Homicide investigators are trying to determine whether a hit-and-run accident that took place minutes after a fatal shooting Saturday night in Surrey, B.C., had anything to do with Metro Vancouver's latest gun violence.
One man was killed and another man injured in the shooting, which occurred in a washroom of the Legacy Show Lounge inside the Clover Inn Motor Hotel, near 176th Street and 57th Avenue in Cloverdale, a town centre in Surrey.
Minutes after the shooting, which happened at 11 p.m., a hit-and-run collision took place at the nearby intersection of Highway 10 and 176th Street, RCMP said Monday.
One vehicle was completing a left turn from Highway 10 to travel north on 176th Street when a second vehicle, travelling west on Highway 10, clipped its rear, Cpl. Dale Carr of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said.
'He was a good guy, and everybody liked him. He was so charismatic and so funny … this wasn't supposed to happen.'— Rachel Goodine, half-sister of Christopher Roy Whitmee
The second vehicle, described by police as a small, dark-coloured two-door car, continued west on Highway 10 without stopping. There were no reported injuries in the collision.
Police are appealing to the driver of the second vehicle to contact investigators so that they can determine whether he or she was connected with the shooting, Carr said.
"Police are looking to speak to anyone that may have witnessed the hit-and-run. Further, they are appealing to the driver of the hit-and-run to come forward to speak to police," he said.
Lexus Burkholder-Whitmee, left, and Heather Burkholder say Christopher Whitmee was a fantastic father and a great friend. (CBC) RCMP have identified the deceased man in the shooting as Christopher Roy Whitmee, 34, but did not release the name of the 28-year-old injured man, who remained in hospital Monday in critical but stable condition.
"Investigators are not yet able to make any links to drugs, gangs or organized crime. However, they are still working on the theory that this incident was a targeted shooting," Carr said.
"Investigators are continuing to work through the theory that one of the two victims may have been a bystander. However, it will be several days or into weeks before we are able to conclusively make that statement."
A man in his early 20s wearing dark clothing, including a dark hooded sweatshirt, was seen fleeing the lounge through the rear of the building moments after the shooting took place, police have said.
Police appeal to witnesses
Investigators have spoken to a number of people who were at the lounge at the time and are asking other witnesses to come forward, Carr said.
Family and friends of Whitmee said they have had a hard time making sense of why the "amazing dad" was gunned down.
Whitmee, an outdoor enthusiast and budding artist, loved his car, The Simpsons and, above all, his daughter, friends said.
"He was really the best dad anyone could ever have," said Lexus Burkholder-Whitmee, Whitmee's nine-year-old daughter.
"I was really, really upset, and I didn't believe it, and every time I just think about it, it doesn't seem real. It just seems like he's going to walk in the door," said Lexus, who appeared strong and resilient on Monday in a CBC News interview together with her mother, Heather Burkholder.
Whitmee remained close friends with Burkholder after they split up eight years ago.
'Great friend, amazing dad'
"He was a great friend to everyone. He was an amazing dad. He loved life and loved people," Burkholder said, holding back tears.
Burkholder said she'll remember Whitmee for his love of Honda Civics, dirt biking and snowboarding.
Whitmee's family said he had only been at the hotel lounge for half an hour and was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"He wasn't involved in any of this gang stuff that's been going on... lately," Whitmee's half-sister Rachel Goodine told CBC News.
"He was in the wrong place at wrong time, and I knew that this was going to happen, that somebody else was going to get shot that wasn't involved in this crap, and I didn't know it was going to be my brother.
"He was a good guy, and everybody liked him. He was so charismatic and so funny," Goodine added. "This wasn't supposed to happen."
Share Tools
Latest British Columbia News Headlines
- B.C. premier unhappy with disgraced Mountie's transfer
- B.C. Premier Christy Clark says she is not happy with the RCMP decision to transfer a disgraced Alberta Mountie to the West Coast. more »
- RCMP officer charged in fatal crash
- An RCMP officer has been charged in connection to a late-night fatal collision in Agassiz, B.C., last July. more »
- Video of West Vancouver arson attack released
- Police are asking for the public for help identifying a man who set the home of a former West Vancouver police chief on fire earlier this year. more »
- Missing gun recovered by Vancouver police
- Vancouver police have recovered a handgun lost by one of their officers during a foot chase Wednesday. more »
Top News Headlines
- Everest victim's husband says family not seeking government help
- The husband of a Toronto woman who died trying to climb Mt. Everest on Saturday says his family is not seeking government help to cover the cost of bringing his wife's body home. more »
- B.C. premier unhappy with disgraced Mountie's transfer
- B.C. Premier Christy Clark says she is not happy with the RCMP decision to transfer a disgraced Alberta Mountie to the West Coast. more »
- Henrique's OT goal sends Devils into Stanley Cup final
- The New Jersey Devils will vie for a potential fourth Stanley Cup in franchise history after defeating the New York Rangers in six games in the Eastern final, courtesy of rookie Adam Henrique's goal early in overtime. more »
- Employment Insurance review boards to be scrapped
- The federal government is scrapping two review boards used by people appealing decisions made about their employment insurance. more »
- B.C. premier unhappy with disgraced Mountie's transfer
- Third B.C. salmon farm quarantined
- RCMP officer charged in fatal crash
- Tsunami motorcycle heading to Harley museum
- Missing gun recovered by Vancouver police
- Province considers BYOB in B.C. restaurants
- Summer rescue boat service planned for Vancouver
- Metro Vancouver gas prices match record levels
- Super microscope installed at University of Victoria

