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Paul David Wynn, 60, died outside the apartment building where he lived. Stephen Furness, 43, died at the city bus stop.
Paul David Wynn (left), 60, and Steven Furness, 43, were the victims of a shooting in Langley on the morning of July 25, 2022. Shooting suspect Jordan Daniel Goggin was later shot and killed by police. Photo by IHIT, Furness family
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A 60-year-old who loved tending his garden and thrived in a new community living program. A charismatic 43-year-old who had a “huge heart”.
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Details emerged Thursday of the two men killed hours apart by a single gunman during a six-hour shooting spree in Langley early Monday.
Homicide investigators say they have released the identities of the dead victims, Paul Wynn and Steven Furness, in an effort to ease the concerns of friends and families and determine if there are others missing since the deadly shootings.
“We learned that there are people in the community who are looking for their friends and loved ones and wondering if they were victims,” said Sgt. David Lee of IHIT.
The news, however, does not bring any relief to the families of those whose lives were taken by the shooter.
A colorful display of flowers has begun to bloom at the site where Wynn – previously identified by a friend with the last name Wallace – was shot and killed outside his assisted living complex, Creek Stone Place, around 3 a.m. on July 25.
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The 60-year-old man was the second targeted after a 26-year-old woman was shot near Cascades Casino around midnight and taken to Langley Memorial Hospital, where she remains in critical condition.
Known to many in Langley as “little Paul,” Winn could often be found outside tending the facility’s gardens or tuning his road bike, his younger sibling John said.
The brothers grew up as a close couple in the Walley area of Surrey.
“Everybody knew him, he was always so happy, so friendly, always offering to help others fix their car or something. You would never know he suffered.
RCMP on scene of fatal shooting in parking lot next to Mission Thrift Shop on Logan Ave and Glover Rd. at 200th St. in Langley, British Columbia on July 25, 2022. Photo by NICK PROCAILLO /PNG
For the past three years, Paul, who struggled with a substance use disorder, was “getting better” with the stability the community living program provided, his brother said.
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Paul had also reconnected with his grown son, who lives on Vancouver Island and is now “struggling a lot” after his father’s death, he added.
“Paul had a beautiful home and he was tall,” his brother said. “He didn’t deserve to go out this way.”
John said police told him that Paul was in a garden in the early hours of Monday when the gunman approached him with a gun in his hand.
“He shot him at point blank range, emptying the magazine of his gun into Paul,” the brother said. “The killer had enough ammunition to do serious damage to others, but my brother took the brunt.”
Police have not confirmed what type of weapon was used in Monday’s shootings, which targeted people identified by community members and friends as formerly or currently homeless.
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John believes his brother was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he crossed paths with an “extremely sad and troubled” gunman who “took his anger out on my brother”.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team has released surveillance photos of multiple shooting suspect Jordan Goggin and his white Mazda in an effort to find more witnesses to the fatal shooting in Langley in the early morning hours of July 25, 2022. Photo by IHIT
John said that with increased access and availability of mental health support and interventions in British Columbia, the shooting could have been prevented.
“This man was so mentally ill that he needed immediate mental health help.”
Two hours after Wynn’s death, the gunman traveled to the parking lot of the Langley Center bus stop, where he killed 43-year-old Steven Furness at about 5 a.m.
Born and raised in Langley, Furness had a “huge heart” and an “infectious smile,” his sister Melanie posted on social media Wednesday. She said her brother was sleeping outside when the gunman attacked.
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His mother, Lorraine, remembers her son’s teenage years as filled with anxiety and ADHD, both of which caused him significant learning difficulties in public schools.
“He was so bright,” she told Postmedia. “The second of our four children – a handsome, charismatic boy with blond hair.”
High school friends remember him as full of laughter and jokes.
In early adulthood, Furness “married a lovely woman and had a beautiful daughter, both of whom he loved very much”.
But his mother said the self-medicating habit led to a substance use disorder that left the Langley resident struggling for the last decade of his life, living on the streets.
“He was a kind hearted man who did not deserve to die such a violent death… hopefully Stephen’s tragic death will shine a spotlight on the plight of the homeless and vulnerable in society.”
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Raymond Wyberg, an assistant at Langley’s Vineyard Church near the bus stop, said he last saw Furness two days before his death.
“He was known in the community as ‘Leather Nuts’ – both because of his surname and for the longest time when he had that big hair and beard.”
About 45 minutes after Furness was killed, a gunman shot a man on 200th Street near the Langley Bypass. The 26-year-old remains in hospital with a leg wound.
Nearby, police shot and killed the suspect, Jordan Daniel Goggin, 28, of Surrey. Investigators believe he was traveling in a white four-door Mazda and had changed into a brown jumpsuit and camouflage T-shirt during the rampage. His motive remains unknown.
sgrochowski@postmedia.com
twitter.com/sarahgrochowski
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