Revenge expected following Bacon death

The fatal shooting of Abbotsford Red Scorpion Jonathan Bacon in Kelowna on Sunday will likely result in a retaliatory attack, but not an all out return to the spiral of gang violence that plagued Abbotsford and the Lower Mainland in recent years, says a UFV criminologist.

Jonathan, the eldest of the three notorious Abbotsford Bacon brothers, was killed in a brazen, public shooting outside the Delta

Grand Okanagan Resort that also injured Larry Amero, a full-patch Hells Angels member from the White Rock chapter.

Also in the car was Independent Soldiers gang associate James Riach, 29, and two women, both of whom were wounded, according to The Vancouver Sun.

Riach fled the scene on foot and has not been located.

The RCMP has made clear it is determined to hunt down those responsible for the shooting, but has not determined which gang member was the actual target in the attack.

University of the Fraser Valley criminologist Darryl Plecas said reprisals will follow, most likely from the Hells Angels in response to the wounding of a full patch member.

"There will be retaliation [by the Hells Angels] all right, but it won't be reckless and quick," Plecas said.

The attack - which involved a hail of bullets aimed at a Porsche Cayenne parked outside a busy Kelowna hotel - was reckless in nature and could have killed people nearby.

Foolhardy and brazen, the shooting had all the earmarks of being the act of a loosely organized mid-level street gang, Plecas said.

The Hells Angels, a hierarchical, disciplined criminal organization generally doesn't operate in a manner that would attract such public attention.

Despite the risk of a revenge attack, the resurgence of a gang war is likely not in the cards, as police have made significant arrests and inroads, particularly against the Red Scorpions and UN gang, in the last couple of years, he said.

"Police have a much greater capability to keep on top of gang violence," he said.

"The public hears of [attacks] but they don't hear about all the things police are heading off at the pass and doing to prevent a hit."

Kelowna RCMP is working with police agencies across the province to catch suspects and head off retaliatory attacks, said Supt. Bill McKinnon.

Abbotsford Police Sgt. Casey Vinet said that although there is heightened awareness on the part of the APD, there is nothing to indicate a pending outbreak of violence here.

"We are working with our partner agencies to ensure we have the latest information around gang violence," said Vinet.

"It would be wrong to think violence couldn't occur here but we don't have any specific information to suggest something similar could happen in Abbotsford."