Calgary

Suspected FOB gang leader Nick Chan shot multiple times in alley

Accused Calgary gang leader Nick Chan was shot on the weekend and is in grave condition, according to CBC sources. 

WARNING: Story contains a graphic image

Suspected gang leader Nick Chan is in hospital after being shot on the weekend. No arrests have been made. (Meghan Grant/CBC)

Suspected Calgary gang leader Nick Chan was shot multiple times in a northwest alley on the weekend and is in grave condition, according to CBC sources. 

Chan was found in the alleyway Friday night and was taken to hospital in life-threatening condition, where he remains.

This is the second time Chan has been the victim of a life-threatening attack.

In 2013, Chan nearly died after being stabbed outside a southwest grocery store. Rival FK gang member Billy Ly was charged with attempted murder, but those charges were stayed three years later.

Chan has 'nine lives'

Police say the weekend shooting appears targeted.

"I've never met Mr. Chan but through my work I've known some of his associates and some of his enemies," said Dr. Patrick Baillie, reacting to the news of the shooting.

Baillie is a forensic psychologist who works with people involved in the criminal justice system. He is also a lawyer. 

"He's survived multiple murder charges, long terms in custody and a vicious gang war," said Baillie.

"He certainly has nine lives; the only question is how many he has left."

Nick Chan was sitting in the driver's seat in his vehicle when he was stabbed in 2013. (Court exhibit)

EMS did not identify Chan as the victim but said the patient had been shot more than once.

Paramedics arrived just after 10 p.m. Friday night to an alley in West Hillhurst where police were trying to save Chan, according to EMS spokesperson Stuart Brideaux.

Chan was alleged to have been a leader of the Fresh Off the Boat (FOB) gang. The FOB-FK (FOB Killers) gang war left 25 people dead in Calgary between 2002 and 2009.

Police and prosecutors have never suggested Chan carried out the killings, but as the alleged gang leader, he was accused of directing others to carry out his orders.

Although he was acquitted on all murder charges, evidence presented in several Calgary murder trials over the years suggested FOB associates were paid up to $10,000 for every dead FK member.

2 men ran from shooting scene

Sources with knowledge of Calgary's FOB-FK gang war say there are a host of potential suspects in the shooting.

Police were called to the 2500 block of First Avenue N.W. after reports of two to three gunshots. 

Insp. Scott McCann said two men were seen running away from the area.

Chan released in 2018

Calgary police Operation Desino ended in July 2013 with six men, including Chan, charged with several murders connected to the street war.

One by one, Chan beat all of his charges in court.

In March 2016, a jury acquitted Chan of first-degree murder for Calgary's Bolsa Restaurant triple homicide in 2009.

The next year, he was found not guilty of several weapons-related charges following a trial. 

Then, in April 2018, days before Chan was to go before a jury on charges of first-degree murder in the death of Kevin Anaya, conspiracy to commit murder and instructing a criminal organization, a Calgary judge ruled Chan's right to be tried within a reasonable time had been violated and ordered all charges be stayed.

Until his release in April 2018, Chan had been in custody since his arrest in July 2013.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Meghan Grant

CBC Calgary crime reporter

Meghan Grant is a justice affairs reporter. She has been covering courts, crime and stories of police accountability in southern Alberta for more than a decade. Send Meghan a story tip at [email protected].