A British Columbia Supreme Court jury has found Kane Carter, 29, guilty of two counts of second-degree murder, including the killing of 15-year-old bystander Alfred Wong. The verdict was delivered on Monday evening, concluding a retrial for the shootings that occurred on the night of January 13, 2018.
A Case Built on Circumstantial Evidence
This trial was a retrial after the Crown's initial case collapsed in September of last year when a jury could not reach a decision after five days of deliberation. When the new trial began in October, prosecutors stated their case was built almost entirely on circumstantial or indirect evidence. This included 40 witness statements and 100 exhibits, linking Carter to the crimes through video surveillance, cellphone records, and his DNA found in the getaway vehicle. There were no direct eyewitnesses to the shootings themselves.
Carter was convicted for the fatal shootings of 23-year-old Kevin Whiteside and 15-year-old Alfred Wong at the busy intersection of Broadway and Ontario in Vancouver. The court heard that at the time of the shooting, Whiteside was running along Broadway and firing at two people inside a taxi. The intended target was reportedly a gangster associated with Carter.
The Tragic Death of an Innocent Teen
The tragedy unfolded when Alfred Wong was in the back seat of his parents' car as his mother drove. Carter, deciding to shoot at Whiteside, fired a stray bullet that struck Wong in the chest. The teenager did not die immediately and had enough time to ask his mother what had happened. A third person was also slightly injured in the incident.
Following the collapse of the first trial last year, Vancouver Police Department Chief Constable Adam Palmer expressed pride in his officers' work and hope for eventual accountability. "We must all respect the judicial process, and remember that the wheels of justice do sometimes grind slowly. I remain hopeful that, as time passes, we will find the accountability we all seek, and the justice Alfred deserves," Palmer stated at the time.
Justice Served After a Long Wait
The guilty verdict brings a measure of closure to a case that has stretched over several years. The parents of Alfred Wong, Samson and Chelly Wong, have waited nearly eight years for this outcome. A date for Carter's sentencing has not yet been set by the court.
The conviction underscores the use of complex forensic and digital evidence to secure justice in cases without direct witnesses, delivering a long-awaited verdict for the family of an innocent teen caught in the crossfire of gang violence.
