SURREY — A Simon Fraser University criminology professor predicts there will be more street violence in coming months as drug gangs fight over lucrative turf in Metro Vancouver.
“The outburst doesn’t appear to be over yet,” Dr. Rob Gordon said Wednesday. “It may quieten down a bit, but it’ll spring back up again.”
At this time of writing there have been 31 confirmed shootings in Surrey in 2016.
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Gordon noted that young men who emigrated from war-torn countries, don’t speak English well and have limited job skills have, “in part” and “in the past” perpetrated such violence. He says this is why it’s critical that communities and government provide better support to newcomers to this country.
Gordon also suspects the eventual legalization of marijuana may reduce gang violence.
The shootings are not just a Surrey problem, he observed.