The events leading up to a Campbell River homicide and police-involved shooting earlier this week are becoming clearer.
Ryan Langlois, 39, was killed on his boat at Campbell River’s Discovery Harbour Authority marina early Monday morning. The marina is also the site of an Independent Investigations Office investigation into a police-involved shooting that occurred after officers responded to potential hostage-taking at the marina at 1:45 a.m on Monday.
Few details about the incident have been released by the RCMP or the IIO, but CHEK News has learned of new details that paint a clearer picture of what exactly happened at the marina.
A witness to the shooting tells CHEK News that he was drinking on a boat with Langlois, a 74-year-old man named Jacques and another man. He said things turned deadly after Jacques became upset at some comments Langlois had allegedly made. Shortly afterwards, Jacques left and returned with a gun, then shot and killed Langlois, according to the witness, who asked not to be identified.
Then, the witness said, the gunman took him and another man hostage but eventually let them go. Once that happened, the other man called 911. Police then arrived on scene and attempted to negotiate with Jaques, who was allegedly brandishing a weapon. Eventually, police fired multiple shots and Jaques was pronounced dead at the scene.
Dustin Gooding, who was Langlois’s business partner but hadn’t seen him in months, says the entire incident is hard to understand.
“It’s terrible. I’ve kind of been in a fog the last couple of days over it. It’s hard to believe,” he said.
Gooding said that the 74-year-old man named Jacques, like Langlois, had been living on his boat in the marina for the last several years. He said the two had been known to exchange barbs but also helped each other as well.
“I knew the guy, Jaques. I think his name was or Jack. Talked to him all the time at the dock. It’s really bizarre. I’m trying to piece it together. I don’t understand why this went down,” said Gooding.
Gooding also said he was in the process of selling his part of the business to Langlois because the pair were having a disagreement. Regardless, Gooding said he will miss the 39-year-old man and is saddened by his death.
“He brought out the best in people in a lot of ways. He had some really good traits when it came to making people feel good about themselves and their skills and moving on to stick up for themselves,” said Gooding.
RCMP is continuing to investigate Langolis’s death while the Independent Investigations Office is investigating the actions of police in the other fatal shooting.
RELATED: Man killed in Campbell River homicide and police-involved shooting identified
Dustin Gooding, above, was Langlois’s business partner but hadn’t seen him in months, says the entire incident is hard to understand. (Kendall Hanson/CHEK News)
Kendall Hanson
