Kevin Douglas Addison faces two counts of first degree murder and two charges attempted murder after a mass shooting at Western Forest Products mill early April 30 that left two people dead and injured two others.
Police say a lone gunman went into the mill just before 7 a.m. and started firing shots in the parking lot and office area, striking four employees.
Minutes after the shots started, officers say they arrested the 47-year-old Nanaimo man, an ex-mill employee, without incident.
Two people have been pronounced dead and two are in hospital, with one airlifted to Victoria General Hospital for treatment and the other in Nanaimo Regional General Hospital.
Sixty-one-year-old Michael John Lunn, a millwright with Western Forest Products, is one of the deceased, his family has confirmed.
Lunn’s sister Linda Bledsoe told the Vancouver Sun that he died at the scene.
“It’s just . . . it’s unexplainable,” she said.
Fred James McEachern, 53, of Nanaimo, was also killed.
Another shooting victim was Tony Sudar, the vice-president of manufacturing at the mill whose wife said was shot in the face by the gunman but is in stable condition and recovering.
The gunman pointed the shotgun at the back of Sudar’s head, family members say, but missed when he turned around, hearing rushed footsteps behind him.
Joe Kaila, who works at the mill, said he was outside Wednesday morning when he heard a loud, explosive noise.
“All I heard was a big bang. I thought one of the gas tanks blew up,” he said as he left the site Wednesday.
“First I thought it was a shotgun, then I said, no... Everybody was shocked.”
RCMP Supt. Mark Fisher said a shotgun was taken from the scene and that it appears that the suspect acted alone.
Western Forest Products CEO Don Demens, visibly shaken as he gave a statement to media, confirmed the alleged gunman was an ex-employee.
“The safety and security of our employees is paramount, and of course we’re co-operating fully with all authorities and will continue to do so,” Demens said.
“We have shut down all our operations on Vancouver Island.”
Demens said he couldn’t provide any information about the alleged gunman’s relationship to the company or how long ago he stopped working at the mill.
He said the mill gates have standard security and that he has “no idea how this occurred.”
Western Forest Products will be providing grief counselling for current employees, he said.
RCMP interviewed witnesses at the scene on Wednesday and collected forensic evidence.
Officers say that the investigation, led by the Nanaimo RCMP Serious Crime Unit, will continue on scene for at least a couple days.
Nanaimo Mayor John Ruttan said he wants to reassure the public that they are safe and that there is “virtually zero risk to the community.”
“In the 50 years I’ve lived in Nanaimo this is the first incident of this type that I can recall,” he said.
“It’s kind of a shock to the system.”
Island District RCMP spokesman Cpl. Darren Lagan said this is the most serious shooting incident on Vancouver Island in recent history.
Sudar’s family is asking for privacy and respect as he recovers at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital.
