The BC Coroners Service is now confirming that two vicitms of a shooting at the Western Forest Products mill in Nanaimo are dead.
Both were pronounced dead on arrival at Nanaimo Regional General. Of the two other victims, one is in critical condition at a Victoria hospital the other is in stable condition at NRGH.
RCMP say the had a 911 call from the mill at the Assembly Wharf around 7am Wednesday morning and arrested a suspect not long after getting to the scene; a 47 year old former employee of the mill.
Western Forest Products has closed its other Island mills out of respect to the victims and to give workers time to come to grips with what’s happened. Don Demens, WFP’s CEO, spoke at the RCMP briefing on the shooting.
Earlier in the day Al Thompson, a trucker who hauls from the mill and who left just before the shooting, spoke to reporters:
As news spread family and friends of mill workers rushed to the scene, but Sukhjinder Rai says they couldn’t get much information about what was going on.
The mill is on land owned by the Port Authority.
“The Nanaimo Port Authority has a close working relationship with Western Forest Products… Our thoughts and prayers are with the individuals and families affected by today’s incident,” says Port Authority President Bernie Dumas. “As the agent for Transport Canada we are required to maintain Security Protocols for Properties under our jurisdiction; we have been in contact with Transport Canada since 07:00 hours when the incident occurred. Our priority is to ensure the safety of users on our properties and the foreshore adjacent to our properties. We have specific protocols and procedures to follow for the safety and security of the local community.”
