Murder charges approved in stabbing of Burnaby RCMP officer Shaelyn Yang

A man has been hit with murder charges following yesterday’s incident at Burnaby’s Broadview Park that resulted in the death of a Burnaby RCMP officer, Constable Shaelyn Yang.

The BC Prosecution Service has announced that first-degree murder charges were approved against Jongwon Ham following the homicide of 31-year-old Yang.

“The offence is alleged to have occurred on October 18 at or near Burnaby,” said the BC Prosecution Service in a statement.

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“The accused made a first appearance today and was remanded to November 2. As the matter is now before the court, the BCPS will have no further comment at this time.”

Yesterday, Yang and a City of Burnaby employee attended a situation at Broadview Park involving a camper. While the details are sparse, at some point, an altercation took place, which led to an entanglement of the camper and Yang. As a result, the camper was shot and sent to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) told Daily Hive that Yang was the one who shot the camper. They also informed Daily Hive that a video of the incident exists.

The tragic result saw Yang stabbed to death.

Constable Shaelyn Yang

Regimental number 66231

Loving wife, sister, daughter, friend… Our hero.

Troop 8

Forever with us ♥️ pic.twitter.com/5386Unm4lF

— Burnaby RCMP (@BurnabyRCMP) October 19, 2022

An outpouring of support ensued, with leaders around the country tweeting their condolences, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

I’m incredibly saddened to hear about the killing of a @BurnabyRCMP officer. My thoughts are with the family, friends, and colleagues of the fallen officer – I am keeping you in my thoughts during this terrible time. https://t.co/E2xdbYOvI1

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) October 18, 2022

Yang was a member of the RCMP mental health and outreach team and someone RCMP officers described as a compassionate person who cared a lot about her community. She started as a volunteer in Richmond, where she also lived.

RCMP Commissioner Dwayne McDonald called the event tragic and senseless.