The man charged in Wednesday’s deadly shooting at a Western Forest Products remains in jail after a brief court appearance.
Coast FM’s Hilary Eastmure was at the Nanaimo Court House, when the victim’s families got their first look at Kevin Addison
Addison’s family issued a statement Thursday evening:
“We are saddened and devastated at the events that took place in our community at the Western Forest Products Mill.
Our deepest heartfelt sympathies and condolences go out to Mr. Mike Lunn and Mr. Fred McEachern’s family, friends and co-workers. We also extend our wishes to Mr. Earl Kelly and Mr. Tony Sudar and their families as they recover from their injuries.
We humbly ask that everyone be respectful of the families affected by these events, including our own, especially the children.”
Addison is a former WFP employee, and union representing workers at the company says they’re shocked and saddened by the incident. Brad West is the Director of Communications for the United Steelworkers in Western Canada. West says the union’s emergency response team is working in Nanaimo, offering counselling and other support the families of the victims and other workers.
West says it’s too early to tell whether increased security on the job site could have helped to prevent the tragedy.
United Steelworkers represents about 30,000 forest workers in BC.
