Family of Burnaby senior killed by stray bullet appeals for information
Chang Yong Cho, 85, was killed by a stray bullet inside his Burnaby home on Aug. 30, 2026. His family is appealing for anyone with information about the shooting to come forward.
Photo: IHIT
The family of an 85-year-old Burnaby man killed by a stray bullet inside his home is appealing for anyone with information about the shooting to come forward, after investigators said they had identified a group of youths believed to have been involved or to know what happened.
Chang Yong Cho’s sons, Justin and David Cho, released a statement through the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team on Sept. 9 describing their father as a man of deep Christian faith whose death has left the family devastated.
“Our father lived his life with humility, patience, and love,” they said.
Cho was born in Korea in 1940 and later built a life in Canada. His sons said he loved golfing, dancing, sharing meals with friends and spending time with his family. He married their mother, Keum Soon Lee, in 1971, and after her death in 2012 found comfort with family, friends, his church and community.
The shooting occurred in the early hours of Aug. 30.
Burnaby RCMP officers responded just after 1:30 a.m. to a report of shots fired near 18th Avenue and Humphries Avenue. Police said a suspect vehicle fled before officers arrived, and the initial investigation did not locate anyone who had been injured.
At about 4 p.m. that day, RCMP received a request to check on the well-being of someone at an apartment complex in the 7400-block of Kingsway, about one block from the earlier shooting. Officers entered the apartment and found Cho with a gunshot wound. He was subsequently pronounced dead.
IHIT initially said preliminary findings led investigators to believe Cho was an innocent victim struck by a stray bullet from the earlier shooting. In its Sept. 9 update, IHIT described Cho as having been killed by a stray bullet inside his home.
Investigators said they had identified a group of youths believed to have been involved in the shooting or to have knowledge of it, and that they had been working to locate them and establish the role of everyone involved.
Cho’s family echoed the police appeal, asking anyone who knows what happened near 18th Avenue and Humphries Avenue during the early hours of Aug. 30 to contact investigators. They also appealed directly to the youths identified by investigators and to their parents to come forward.
“We are struggling to understand how something so senseless could happen to a man who lived with such gentleness and grace,” Justin and David Cho said.
IHIT said it was working with Burnaby RCMP, the Integrated Forensic Identification Services and the BC Coroners Service. IHIT has also asked for witnesses and anyone with dashcam or surveillance footage from the area of 18th Avenue and Humphries Avenue between 12:30 a.m. and 2 a.m. on Aug. 30 to come forward.
Anyone with information can call the IHIT Information Line at 1-877-551-IHIT (4448) or email ihitinfo@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.
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