Editorial: The Two Towers and how the news got uncomfortably close last week
- By Nathan D. Chan
- Published 10/24/2007
A short two months ago, when Robert asked me if I would like to contribute some articles to News Right Now, I thought, “Sure, I can add in some Canadian news, maybe some economic news, so that I get some use out of that undergrad degree in economics before I forget everything.”
I mean, I live in Vancouver, Canada – generally regarded as urbane, diverse, rainy, peaceful, and well, let’s not kid ourselves, boring. It’s an accusation that’s perfectly valid, and can probably be leveled at Toronto, or several other Canadian cities. And really, that suits me fine. Excitement makes for good stories years down the road, but I’m not a big fan of the actual experience.
Last Friday, (October 19, 2007), I was getting ready to head out and hit a new local pub with a couple of old friends. The only thing on my mind was how wet I would get walking there in the rain when I got a phone call from my dad, whose office is in Richmond, telling me that traffic was backed up all over the place there because a plane had run into a tower.
Now, while I’m sure everyone had 9/11 flashbacks, after finding out it was a light plane, and that there had not been a fire, I shrugged it off. Richmond is full of high rise apartments, mostly empty during the work day, and directly underneath Vancouver International Airport’s landing circuit. I was curious about what happened of course, and turned on the radio, and that’s when things got weird.
The guys on the news channel were talking about an apartment alright, but not the one hit by a plane, but rather one on the other side of the Greater Vancouver area, in Surrey, one of the largest suburbs in Vancouver. At first, the only news was that a huge area had been blocked to traffic, on account of a massive gas leak at an apartment complex. When they read off the address, I realized the location was very familiar – my family had bought and rented out an apartment in the same tower as an investment a few years ago, when housing prices were much lower – about 40% of current prices. Last week, the strata corporation was sending repairmen around to check all the fireplaces before turning the gas on for the winter.
I truly wish it really had been just a massive gas leak. Soon, details came trickling out. Six bodies were found in one of the apartments, with reports that the scene was very bloody. Then further details that it was six males of various ethnic backgrounds. About this time, rumours about drugs began swirling, rumors that proved to be true as the police finally confirmed the identities of all six deceased. Four were young men, believed by police to be ‘leading a criminal lifestyle’. The other two were in the wrong place at the wrong time – a neighbour, and the gas repairman checking the fireplaces.
Both incidents hit close to home, both are in busy areas that I pass by from time to time, and I was within a couple hundred meters of both at some point over the weekend. Driving my brother’s friend home from his university, we found out that he lived in one of the neighbouring towers, not more than 50 meters from the one that was hit by the aircraft. At one point, I volunteered at a career center near the site of the murders, and was actually in the building not two weeks ago to perform the required twice-a-year inspection of our apartment. While the area is known for having drug users, the building is fairly nice. Well… *was* fairly nice. The largest incident of multiple homicide in the history of the Greater Vancouver area might put a damper on housing prices in the area. Before, the area was seen as merely sketchy, but now, with the deaths of two innocents, it feels downright dangerous.
In the meantime, I’ll be happy to once more be writing about news that’s either boring, far-away, or both. I think I’ve had more than enough excitement for a long time.
*Although I refer to them as suburbs, Surrey and Richmond are both officially cities with their own mayors and infrastructure. The Greater Vancouver area is comprised of a number of independent cities and municipalities, as unlike Toronto, we haven’t amalgamated into a mega-city yet.
I mean, I live in Vancouver, Canada – generally regarded as urbane, diverse, rainy, peaceful, and well, let’s not kid ourselves, boring. It’s an accusation that’s perfectly valid, and can probably be leveled at Toronto, or several other Canadian cities. And really, that suits me fine. Excitement makes for good stories years down the road, but I’m not a big fan of the actual experience.
Last Friday, (October 19, 2007), I was getting ready to head out and hit a new local pub with a couple of old friends. The only thing on my mind was how wet I would get walking there in the rain when I got a phone call from my dad, whose office is in Richmond, telling me that traffic was backed up all over the place there because a plane had run into a tower.
Now, while I’m sure everyone had 9/11 flashbacks, after finding out it was a light plane, and that there had not been a fire, I shrugged it off. Richmond is full of high rise apartments, mostly empty during the work day, and directly underneath Vancouver International Airport’s landing circuit. I was curious about what happened of course, and turned on the radio, and that’s when things got weird.
The guys on the news channel were talking about an apartment alright, but not the one hit by a plane, but rather one on the other side of the Greater Vancouver area, in Surrey, one of the largest suburbs in Vancouver. At first, the only news was that a huge area had been blocked to traffic, on account of a massive gas leak at an apartment complex. When they read off the address, I realized the location was very familiar – my family had bought and rented out an apartment in the same tower as an investment a few years ago, when housing prices were much lower – about 40% of current prices. Last week, the strata corporation was sending repairmen around to check all the fireplaces before turning the gas on for the winter.
I truly wish it really had been just a massive gas leak. Soon, details came trickling out. Six bodies were found in one of the apartments, with reports that the scene was very bloody. Then further details that it was six males of various ethnic backgrounds. About this time, rumours about drugs began swirling, rumors that proved to be true as the police finally confirmed the identities of all six deceased. Four were young men, believed by police to be ‘leading a criminal lifestyle’. The other two were in the wrong place at the wrong time – a neighbour, and the gas repairman checking the fireplaces.
Both incidents hit close to home, both are in busy areas that I pass by from time to time, and I was within a couple hundred meters of both at some point over the weekend. Driving my brother’s friend home from his university, we found out that he lived in one of the neighbouring towers, not more than 50 meters from the one that was hit by the aircraft. At one point, I volunteered at a career center near the site of the murders, and was actually in the building not two weeks ago to perform the required twice-a-year inspection of our apartment. While the area is known for having drug users, the building is fairly nice. Well… *was* fairly nice. The largest incident of multiple homicide in the history of the Greater Vancouver area might put a damper on housing prices in the area. Before, the area was seen as merely sketchy, but now, with the deaths of two innocents, it feels downright dangerous.
In the meantime, I’ll be happy to once more be writing about news that’s either boring, far-away, or both. I think I’ve had more than enough excitement for a long time.
*Although I refer to them as suburbs, Surrey and Richmond are both officially cities with their own mayors and infrastructure. The Greater Vancouver area is comprised of a number of independent cities and municipalities, as unlike Toronto, we haven’t amalgamated into a mega-city yet.