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Sometimes it's hard to feel sympathetic for the victim....


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Globe and Mail article

In my opinion this isn't quite the tragedy that Superintendent Mal thinks it is. The "victim" had been in Canada for several years and it looks as if he had already decided against being a productive member of society.

A 20-year-old Surrey man has been charged with second-degree murder after allegedly killing a teenager for vandalizing a car.

The victim, 17-year-old Aden Aliu, was walking along 103 Avenue in Surrey's Guildford neighbourhood early Wednesday morning with a group of friends. The teens were slashing car tires and had dented the doors of a vehicle, police said. One of the cars was associated with the suspect, who, two blocks later, confronted the group and allegedly opened fire, killing Mr. Aliu.

"They were acting like stupid children and as a result of that, unfortunately, one male, who we know was involved in the criminal lifestyle, is involved in the gang lifestyle, had taken upon himself to end that person's life. That's a tragedy," said the RCMP Superintendent Dan Malo of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.

Mr. Aliu moved to Canada from Albania several years ago and was living with an uncle in Surrey when he died, police said.

Supt. Malo said the killing deeply touched investigators, who built a case against the suspect less than 15 hours after the team was first called on scene. Police would not reveal how they caught up with the accused.

Steven Brandon Mulligan-Brum of Surrey has been charged with second-degree murder. He made his first court appearance at Surrey Provincial Court Friday morning. Mr. Mulligan-Brum is involved with a number of local gangs, Supt. Malo said.

Mr. Aliu did not have any prior connection to his alleged killer and the incident is not linked to any gangs, drugs or organized crime, according to police. "In this case, there is no retaliation. This was a one-off, so the community should feel some comfort," Supt. Malo said.

Still, some community members said they fear the violence is not over. Aniko Varga said friends of the accused showed up at a memorial for Mr. Aliu set up directly beside a housing complex that is home to many children. The group then urinated on the memorial, she said.

"They have made their presence [known] here last night and we are just concerned because all the kids are here grieving," Ms. Varga said. "The kids are angry right now and they are talking about it, so we don't know what is going to happen next."

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I just read that article in the paper this morning and I had exactly the same reaction.

I'm guessing this group of little delinquents probably wont be vandalising any more cars real soon.

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.... :closedeyes: ... a seventeen yr. old kid is killed and you guys are thinking "good riddance!"? .... That seems just a little cold to me.

....it's not hard for a kid to get lost these days...

Can you expect a 17 year old, who may have had really lousy- or no - guidance throughout his life, to keep all his arrows straight?

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.... :closedeyes: ... a seventeen yr. old kid is killed and you guys are thinking "good riddance!"?

No, I don't think that is exactly what we(me) are thinking.

The statement was "it's hard to feel sympathetic for the victim". It's unfortunate he paid the ultimate price for his transgressions, but I don't feel all that sympathetic for him. If the courts would do more to these a-holes than slap them on the wrist or worse, then I might wish that he got caught and brought to justice. However knowing that wont happen then I am OK with justice being served directly, although the penalty was more severe than deserved.

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Guest floatrrr

So killing someone over a vandalized car is OK? Warped if you ask me. Does the kid deserve a $hit kickin? Most definitely! But to lose his life for being a stupid kid? Warped! Kill... go to jail end of story. Vandalize a car , get a $hit kickin'.

IMHO.

How many cases like this do you ever hear about in Singapore?

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Ahh good, the forum has been so quiet for the last while that I was afraid this would die on the vine without any discussion.

For the record, I didn't say that I was glad the 17 year old got killed or that I hoped more would be killed. I just find it hard to find sympathy for a criminal who is eventually meets a property owner who doesn't appreciate his property being destroyed.

I believe in Canada that the legal amount of force the property owner could have used against the teen is "none", that is if he had done nothing more than grab hold of the teen and held him until the police arrived, causing no injury at all - the property owner would have been charged with forcible confinement and the teen let go.

I suppose it's possible that the teen didn't really commit any of the vandalism and was simply walking along with the others as they slashed tires and kicked doors (I'm sure that would have been his lawyer's defense), on the other hand, this guy could have been the ringleader and the group could have been on their way to commit a violent home invasion.

It is just a property crime though and even though he's probably done this before (to dozens or hundreds of cars) and caused huge amounts of expense and aggravation to dozens or hundreds of property owners I would be willing to bet my last dollar that, if caught, his young offender status would net him nothing more than some token punishment. Is being shot for slashing tires too much punishment, yes, I guess. Is a slap on the wrist too little punishment, yes, it is.

I have thought about this a bunch; what punishment or solution is there for a group of punks with no respect for the rights of others? What about "swarmings?" Like this one; CBC or this one; CBC-2 The physical and psychological injuries from this could last a lifetime. What is an appropriate punishment (by "appropriate" I mean severe enough to make the person not want to commit the crime again)? I don't know.

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What is an appropriate punishment (by "appropriate" I mean severe enough to make the person not want to commit the crime again)? I don't know.

Public spanking at the local mall on a Saturday. :red_smile:

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There are certain towns in Ontario where the crime rate is very low with respect to property damage etc. The reason is that some of the local population are "connected". Commiting a crime against some of these individuals would net you a pair of cement shoes and a short walk off the pier. While you cannot be sure who the "connected" people actually are would you be willing to take the risk? Hence low crime rate.

I have told some guys I know that one day they will mess witht he wrong guy. This kid messed with the wrong guy. Problem is you never know its the wrong guy until its too late.

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