We now know a little more about the final minutes of Jordan Daniel Goggin’s murderous attacks on Langley residents.
The report released last week by the Independent Investigations Office (IIO) fills in many of the blanks about how Goggin attacked and wounded his final victim in a fight on 200th Street, how RCMP rushed to the scene, and how a critical incident commander of the ERT arrived, and shot and killed Goggin.
The detailed report, however, covers just a few minutes of the shooting spree, which began just after midnight, and continued until 5:45 a.m.
Hopefully, there will be a full inquest by the B.C. Coroners Service, which will provide more information about the deaths of Steven Furness and Paul Wynn, and about the woman who was critically wounded.
Not covered by the IIO report are matters such as how many weapons Goggin had in his possession that day, and how he acquired them, and exactly what he was doing and where he was during the long gaps between each of the four known shooting sites.
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We also don’t know whether he had written or posted anything in advance, in private or online, about his violent plans.
Most importantly, the IIO report is explicit – there is so far no known motive for the shootings.
An inquest may provide some answers on this matter, but it may not.
We may have to live with the fact that any answer about the source of Goggin’s anger died with him.
The unfortunate fact is that in a case where someone kills and attacks strangers, their motives may not only be unknown, but unknowable.
We want to know because we want to be able to prevent similar attacks in the future. More information and transparency may help us understand this attack, but it might leave only further questions.
– M.C.