The two sons of Chang Yong Cho, who was killed in his Burnaby, B.C., home by a stray bullet, say they are “shattered” by the death of the 85-year-old.
Justin and David Cho said in a statement on Wednesday that they are “struggling to understand how something so senseless could happen” and are appealing to anyone with information about the shooting to come forward.
“We are devastated by the tragic loss of our father, Chang Yong Cho. Our father was a man of deep Christian faith, gentle spirit, and unwavering kindness. To lose him in such a shocking way has shattered our hearts,” the brothers said in a statement released by the province’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.
Chang Yong Cho was found dead in his apartment around 4 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 30, more than 14 hours after police responded to reports of shots being fired about a block away.
It is the latest in dozens of cases where people have died or been injured by stray bullets in Canada in the last 30 years or so.
The brothers said their father was born in Korea in 1940, before building a life in Canada “grounded in faith, integrity, and service to others.”
“He loved golfing, dancing, sharing meals with friends, and spending time with his family. The greatest joy of his life began when he married our mother, Keum Soon Lee, in 1971,” the statement said.
After his wife’s death in 2012 the family said Cho “carried his grief quietly and faithfully.”
“He found comfort in time spent with family, friends, his church and community. We take solace in knowing that he is now reunited with our mother in eternal rest,” they said.
His funeral is scheduled for Sept. 14 in Burnaby.
Police said Tuesday that a group of young people, all aged under 18, were believed to have been involved in a personal dispute that led to the shooting and know police want to talk to them.
In the statement the brothers urge the youth and their parents to “to do the right thing” and turn themselves in to police.
“We are struggling to understand how something so senseless could happen to a man who lived with such gentleness and grace,” the brothers said.
“From his sisters, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews, extended family and friends — his loss is being deeply felt by all who had the pleasure of knowing him.”
Police want anyone with information about the incident, in which shots were fired near 18th and Humphries avenues, to contact IHIT. They also want to speak to anyone with dashcam or security footage from the area between 12:30 a.m. and 2 a.m. on Aug. 30.
While police on Tuesday called the case “highly unusual,” there have been at least 30 instances of people being killed or wounded by stray bullets in Canada since 1996.
At least 16 people have died, with multiple high-profile cases involving children and adults killed in public spaces as well as their homes.
In 2018, 15-year-old Alfred Wong was in the back seat of a vehicle with his family as they drove home from dinner in Vancouver when he was hit by a bullet as they drove past a shootout between gang rivals on the busy Broadway thoroughfare.
Kane Carter was sentenced in July to two life terms for second-degree murder, for killing Wong and an alleged gangster who died in the same shootout.
Other victims in stray-bullet shootings have included eight-year-old JahVai Roy, who died after being hit by a bullet in bed in Toronto in August last year, 21-year-old Indian student Harsimrat Randhawa, who died in April 2025 after being shot while waiting for a bus in Hamilton, Ont., and Dante Andreatta Marroquin, 12, killed in Toronto in 2020 when two men sprayed dozens of rounds from a moving vehicle.
Five-year-old Ethan Yellowbird died in 2011 after being struck by a bullet while he slept on the Samson Cree reserve south of Edmonton, while in 2007, 11-year-old Ephraim Brown was attending a birthday party outside a Toronto housing complex when he was struck in the neck by a bullet and died.
Laurie Tinga survived after being shot in the head in 2005 by a stray bullet while watching TV in her home in Port Moody, B.C., in what police called a gang shootout.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2026.
By Ashley Joannou | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
