April 29, 1992 68 pages

Office, Editorial 98-2131

Man dead on arrival at LGH
after shooting self in head

GUNFIRE BROKE

the quiet of a North Vancouver

District neighborhood Monday when a man walked into a
gunshop operated from the basement of a home and shot

himself in the head.

The shooter, a man approxi-
mately 20 years of age, was ad-
mitted dead on arrival at Lions
Gate Hospital just after I p.m.
The man died as the result of a
single bullet wound.

A North Vancouver RCMP
spokesman said the police have
ruled out foul play in the death.
The name of the dead man had
not been released to press time
Tuesday.

The bizarre incident begun at
approximately 12:45 p.m. when
the man walked into North Shore
Firearms Ltd., located in the
90-block of Eas: Idth Street.

The man asked the gunshop
operator if he could examine a
9-mm handgun.

Said North Vancouver RCMP
Staff Sgt. Ron Babcock, ‘*Ap-
parently there was a problem with
a gun sold to this person previous-
ly. He brought the gun in to show
him. When the owner produced
another ‘one like it, the suspect
tried to run out of the store. He
was grabbed and brought back in-
to the store.*”

The owner attempted to subdue
him oy spraying hint with a
Mace-type of substance, but the
spray had no effect on the man.

Chris Macey, the son of the
gunshop operator, confirmed that
the dead man had been a custom-
er of his father’s priar to coming
into the store on Monday to look
at a handgun.

“He wanted to buy it. He load-
ed it up right then and shot his
head off,’’ said Macey.

Macey said his father sprayed
the man after he heard him cock
the handgun.

“He thought he (the man with
the gun) was going to hold us
up," he said.

The dead man had apparently
entered the store with bullets in
his pocket.

North Vancouver resident Mike

By Michael Becker
News Reporter

MacNealj operates a gunshop in
Burnaby and says the scenario
played out on Monday on East
14th Street is the stuff of
nightmares for any gunshop oper-
ator.

Regardless of precautionary
safety measures taken, the unex-
pecied can happen.

“This kind of thing happens so
fast, there is not an awful lot you
can do about it. A lot of places,
like down in the States, these
yeuth gangs come in and they br-
ing their own guns with them, and
they clean you out — end of
story. That sort of stuff scares
me,"* MacNeal said.

Meanwhile many of the
residents living near the gunshop
were unaware until Monday that
the business was operating on
their street in a block that includes
Brooksbank Elementary school.

The gunshop has operated from
the home for years.

Frank Macey is licensed by
North Vancouver District to
distribute and repair guns from
the address.

According to North Vancouver
District chief building inspector
David Pawson, gunshop operators
must have RCMP clearance to do
business.

Said Pawson, “If it's in a resi-
dence, all the regulations pertain-
ing to home occupation apply.
The residentiat character of the
dwelling must be maintained,
there must be no noise, glare,
smell whatever coming from the
dwelling and that’s it. We don't
treat it any different than any-
thing else.

“It's just like any other
business except when you put the
bullets in — then you've got a
problem,’* he added.

index

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The latest addition

DALE CLARK, wife of B.C. Finance Minister Glen Clark, breaks a bottle of champagne aboard
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Also in attendance were Vancouver Shipyards Co. Ltd. general manager Tom Ward, left, and
North Vancouver-Lonsdale MLA David Schreck (in background). See story page 11.