Man involved in murder-suicide was in military

[navymich]

Man involved in murder-suicide was in military
Peter Lee had been in reserves since 1985; had weapons training for job of detecting explosives

Rob Shaw
Times Colonist

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Peter Lee, believed to be at the centre of a mass murder-suicide in Oak Bay on Tuesday, had been a longtime member of the Canadian Forces reserves.

The man believed to be at the centre of a mass murder-suicide in Oak Bay had been a longtime member of the Canadian Forces reserves - a position that involved basic weapons training as well as detecting and neutralizing potentially explosive devices.

Peter Lee had joined HMCS Malahat, a Victoria-based navy reserve unit, in 1985, the Forces confirmed Wednesday. He currently held the rank of master seaman.

"He was a part-time member of Malahat and he was a port inspection diver," said Sub-Lieut. Peggy Kulmala, Malahat public affairs officer.

"At the time of the incident he was not on duty and hadn't been employed by the CF [Canadian Forces] for the month of August."

The bodies of four adults and a six-year-old child were found in an Oak Bay house owned by Lee's wife early Tuesday. The B.C. Coroners service says the case is being investigated as a murder-suicide. Although the identities of the dead have not been officially released, court records show Lee had been previously charged with assaulting his wife, and involved in other incidents that caught police attention in the past. As well, the couple, who had at one time operated a Victoria restaurant together, appeared to be going through a divorce.

Kulmala said Lee would not have had recent access to weapons or explosives as part of his job. An inspection diver conducts underwater examinations of ports, harbours and ships. As well, the position involves checking for mines and "neutralizing underwater anti-ship sabotage devices," according to a Canadian Forces recruiting website.

"A port inspection diver must be highly dependable, self-motivated, alert, thorough and confident, with a high degree of self-control and emotional stability," the Forces website reads.

"They must be well coordinated, manually dextrous, physically strong and in excellent health at all times. Determination, maturity and responsibility are necessary attributes to diving candidates."

Lee would have had to complete basic training at CFB Borden, Ont., as part of the position. Among other things, basic training involves using weapons.

Lee was charged with assault and dangerous driving after he crashed his vehicle into a pole in Victoria on July 31. His wife, a passenger in the vehicle, broke her arm. Victoria police said they believed the accident was a deliberate attempt to injure the woman. They recommended Lee not be released on bail. Nonetheless, the court released him. Lee was placed under conditions not to possess any weapons or explosives. As well, he was ordered not to visit the Oak Bay family home, the restaurant he once operated, or contact his wife.

Lee was one of 150 reservists in the Malahat unit. There are 24 such units across Canada. He was a well-known military member due to his more than 20 years of service, said Kulmala.

"I don't think too many people at Malahat are prepared to speak about this. It's pretty shocking to us. It's like a family to us," she said.

Meanwhile, police and coroners are expected to hold a press conference later today to update the public on the latest developments.
© Times Colonist 2007

 

[Colin Parkinson]

No doubt the media will making out that the Military turned him into a super strategic ningasniper.  :

 

[chiquita]

Not only is it front page news today, it covers the next two pages as well.  The whole thing is terribly unfortunate.  His military ties are only a sliver of it, reads more like 'oh ya, and he was in the military with some weapons training'.  Let's try to remember that the tragedy isn't that he was in the military, or his ties may smear it, but that this was a man in crisis (product of his own doing? who know's nor should we speculate) that had a disastrous ending.

May all involved find some peace.

 

[1feral1]

Would he had got this attention if he was a janitor at a funeral home? Probably not.

When will the media say good things about Defence as a whole?


Wes

 

[chiquita]

The judicial system is getting the bad rap here, his history of previous acts of violence and how this province deals with domestic violence is what's getting attention from the media.  BC has the highest incidence of domestic violence in the country (I would have thought it dope smoking, tree-hugging, and soap-making).  The military isn't getting any fallout here.

 

[navymich]

More on the incident for anyone following it:

Radios, phones failed police at murder-suicide

Officers couldn't share information; 911 call was disconnected; 'Screaming' woman said there was a fire, fight and knife

Cindy E. Harnett and Rob Shaw, Times Colonist
Published: Friday, September 07, 2007

Radio and cellphone communication broke down several times between police dispatchers, officers, and a woman trying to call 911 from the grisly murder-suicide in Oak Bay.

The police emergency radios were unreliable and backup cellphones could not get a signal, officers confirm. And a 911 caller from inside the home either hung up or was somehow disconnected by police at least once, sources told the Times Colonist.

It started at approximately 3 a.m. Tuesday when a "screaming" woman inside a million-dollar home at 310 King George Ter. called 911. She told police she needed help because of a fire, a fight and someone with a knife.

But the call ended abruptly at least once. It is not clear whether the woman hung up or was otherwise disconnected. A 911 dispatcher was able to successfully call the woman back at least once.

It was the start of a communication breakdown plaguing the police response to what would turn out to be a quadruple murder-suicide in which restaurant-owner Peter Lee, 38, stabbed and killed his wife, Sunny Park, 32, their six-year-old son Christian, and Park's parents who were visiting from Korea, Kum Lea Chun, 59, and Moon Kyu Park, 66.

....more on link

 

[Sub_Guy]

Way to go media!  He probably was trained how to use weapons (C7), but I think we all know what any crazy fcuker armed with a knife can do.  It doesn't take military training to do that.....  Letter to TC editor inbound.

Mentioning he was in the military is irrelevant, you might as well mention he was Korean and how as a Korean he was under pressure from the North....  Its just plain stupid

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

It mentioned he was a "restaurant-owner", I wonder if all restaurant-owner's are upset about this................... Chris Benoit was headlined as being a wrestler, should......

What a person does is part of the story as long as they don't try a tie-back.

 

[armyvern]

I really don't see any bias on the media's part with this story.

Murder-suicides of this magnitude frequently hit the papers and the airwaves in this nation. Domestic violence seems to be the forefront lately. Why, just this week, they've also been extensivley covering the suicide and funeral of a certain BC man who they suspect killed his wife 4 days after they were married. And, I'm in New Brunswick.

Like it or not, this is news. And, it is often quite common, especially in situations like this, for the media to delve (and the courts too, and the evetual public inquiries) into the background of the perpetrator looking for past incidents of violence, weapons access, training etc.

They aren't putting this fact out there to slam the CF ... if the guy hadn't been CF rather it would read something like "underwent weapons training at XXX private rifle range..." or "no background information can be found pertaining to previous violent incidents or access to, training with weapons."

Fact is, they always delve into the background and put it in the story. The only thing different about this one, is the guy happened to serve in the CF.

A lot of you are making a mountain out of a mole-hill. Apparently, you are not restaurant owners ....

 

[Colin Parkinson]

The Victoria police have been complaining for some time about their crappy comms system. This will likely force the city to replace it.

 

[IN HOC SIGNO]

The Victoria police have been complaining for some time about their crappy comms system. This will likely force the city to replace it.

Nothing has changed in Victoria I see since the last time they complained of crapy comms. When I lived there last (96-01) they had the major snow storm of the century at Xmas time 96 and were complaining that the police and fire department comms were crappy then and many people who needed help couldn't get it. I was with Rogers cell phone then and there were many places in the city where the phone would die or disconnect without warning.....good old Victoria doesn't want to change too fast I see. :

 

[Cronicbny]

The problems with CREST (Capital Region Emergency Communications System) are well documented and long standing. Though it allows all police/fire/EMS services in the Capital Region (Victoria, Saanich, Esquimalt, Langford, Metchosin, North Saanich, Highlands etc etc) to maintain comms on the same network if required in case of an emergency, it doesn't provide nearly adequate enough coverage when personnel are inside buildings, parking garages and such. In this particular case, Oak Bay (which has it's own police department) were not equipped to handle the event so they called in assistance from Saanich (the largest of the departments in the CRD)... I can only speculate that the transfer of pertinent information was hampered by the CREST system, AND doubly so due to the lack of practical experience of the Oak Bay police.

If you do some cursory searches on the net for CREST, you'll find that some municipalities are already thinking of "going it alone". While I applaud them in their efforts to get a new, more reliable system, I can't help but feel there is some benefit to having CRD wide communications. Sigh. I wish Saanich (the largest member by population and cash money) would threaten to pull out as well so that all the smaller municipalities would have no choice but to join in an effort to procure a new and improved system.

 

[geo]

Uhh... didn't he use a knife to do the deed?

I am certain that the CF did not train him in the use of knives
His mum & dad taught him to use Knife, Fork & Spoon
so... blame it on ole Mum & Dad?

 

[armyvern]

Uhh... didn't he use a knife to do the deed?

I am certain that the CF did not train him in the use of knives
His mum & dad taught him to use Knife, Fork & Spoon
so... blame it on ole Mum & Dad?

They aren't blaming it on the CF. At least not the media. The only people who think the media is blaming the CF ... are posting here.

 

[IN HOC SIGNO]

The problems with CREST (Capital Region Emergency Communications System) are well documented and long standing. Though it allows all police/fire/EMS services in the Capital Region (Victoria, Saanich, Esquimalt, Langford, Metchosin, North Saanich, Highlands etc etc) to maintain comms on the same network if required in case of an emergency, it doesn't provide nearly adequate enough coverage when personnel are inside buildings, parking garages and such. In this particular case, Oak Bay (which has it's own police department) were not equipped to handle the event so they called in assistance from Saanich (the largest of the departments in the CRD)... I can only speculate that the transfer of pertinent information was hampered by the CREST system, AND doubly so due to the lack of practical experience of the Oak Bay police.

If you do some cursory searches on the net for CREST, you'll find that some municipalities are already thinking of "going it alone". While I applaud them in their efforts to get a new, more reliable system, I can't help but feel there is some benefit to having CRD wide communications. Sigh. I wish Saanich (the largest member by population and cash money) would threaten to pull out as well so that all the smaller municipalities would have no choice but to join in an effort to procure a new and improved system.

I always thought when I lived there...and still do...that they should amalgamate the whole region and get rid of the silly divisions and fiefdoms. It's what, something like 13 seperate little municipalities in the same littel area of the province....ridiculous, wasteful and inefficient for providing services to people who basically all live in the greater Victoria area.

 

[geo]

They aren't blaming it on the CF. At least not the media. The only people who think the media is blaming the CF ... are posting here.

Sigh, you,re right

Mea culpa

 

[Colin Parkinson]

That's because our media routinely connects random dots to form bizarre patterns, so we assumed they would make this into such an event, however as all of the killing was done with a knife, they consider it almost a nonevent, however if it had been done with a gun, expect 5-6 articles wringing their hands about guns and the role the military played in making him into a trained killer.