Sam Eves, a 15-year old Howe Sound Secondary student, is dead after allegedly being stabbed by a 19-year old new resident from Markham, Ontario, Ander Kumar Walker-Huria, who was known to police as a car thief and perpetrator of home invasions.
Walker-Huria was captured 13 hours after the incident and held in custody at the Squamish police detachment until his appearance before North Vancouver Provincial Court yesterday morning (March 22). The case was adjourned until April 12 when Walker-Huria will make another appearance in North Vancouver Provincial Court, but this time by video from the North Fraser Correctional Centre.
The tragic incident began when four residents - the 15-year old boy, another youth and two adults - were drinking on a Smoke Bluffs Park trail, according to Cpl. Dale Carr of the Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT). An argument with other youths ensued - allegedly over a girl - and the fight escalated at a residence at the 1000 block of Northridge Drive in Valleycliffe. Witnesses stated seeing Walker-Huria slash Eves across his midriff.
Squamish RCMP was called to the scene at 9:30 p.m. The stabbing victim was already in hospital and was soon airlifted to Vancouver General Hospital, where he died of his wounds.
A massive manhunt was launched involving police helicopters and numerous roadblocks from Horseshoe Bay to Whistler in an attempt to track down Walker-Huria following the incident. The suspect never made it out of the Squamish and was arrested 13 hours after the search began around 11 a.m. Wednesday, after a resident in Raven's Plateau spotted someone who fit his description on a nearby Forest Service Road.
A police helicopter and police dogs were used to track down the suspect, and a dramatic takedown was caught on film by a CTV news helicopter and photographed by Lower Mainland media.
Eves is remembered as an active student by his former teachers, according to Don Ross Secondary principal Rick Smith."Sam was such a lively, vibrant part of our student body," said Smith. "We would run intramurals at lunch hour and Sam, with his group of buddies was there, and he was an active part of the school band. I'm picturing him sitting out front with the clarinet in his hands."
Smith said counsellors were at the school to help teachers and students in shock and grief.Howe Sound Secondary principal Nancy Campbell said that once school officials determine students had an adult at home, several Grade 10 students were allowed to leave Wednesday.
The secondary school has chosen to assemble in small groups with counsellors in order to process the event rather than in a school-wide assembly.
Both principals say the schools are continuously addressing violence among students and special presentations on the topic will be an ongoing part of the curriculum.
The incident has led media to question the town's safety, leading Mayor Ian Sutherland to rebuke notions that Squamish is an unusually dangerous place.
"I think most people understand that as tragic as the event was, it's a very unique event," he said. "And people across the province understand that as unfortunate as it is, kids underage do drink and other events happen."
Sutherland also rejected reporters' comparisons to the murder of Bob McIntosh on New Year's Eve 10 years ago. It took several years for the investigation to lead to the prosecution of Ryan Aldridge due to what was deemed a "cone of silence" around the issue.
"One of the questions was 'Is this going to be like the cone of silence?' and I said 'How can it be the cone of silence when they [the police] knew the person's name in 10 minutes and they had several phone call telling them where to find him? It shows that the community does care."
