It was early the morning of Christmas Eve 2011. I was awoken by banging on my house door. I went to the door and found two of my son’s friends standing there, tears in their eyes. They said my son Brad had been shot and was dead. You might be completely oblivious to how this might have felt but I can tell you this…NO parent should ever have to hear this. This is the story on what happened that day. Brad attended along with approx. 50+ invited people an after hour’s party in Surrey of the morning of Christmas Eve 2011. For those of you who do not know what an after hours party is. It’s a house set up just for the one purpose to invite people to after all bars are closed. They serve alcohol to make money for their own gain, these house parties are not licensed and there is no security. Generally they are rented homes and landlords are unaware of the goings on in theses rental homes.

 

 

A group of people who were not invited showed up to the party. Shortly after Bradley McPherson arrived at this house party and said hi to a few friends, he witnessed a confrontation with another guest and the host of the home. Bradley being the type of stand up guy he was and always watching out for others made a comment to the person/s who was disrupting the party and being disrespectful to stop and show some respect. Brad did NOT know any of these people in this group. One of these person/s took offense to Brad calling him out on his actions and turned on him and took his life. No reason no cause just shot him for standing up to a Bully. It has taken just over a year and a half but FINALLY an arrest and charge has been made for Bradley’s murder. Imagine this was your brother, son, uncle or loved one, everyone thinks that it can't happen to them but it can and I’ve witnessed 1st hand the devastation this senseless act has caused to a family. I know some may assume that he must have been involved in some gang or drug trade but that is NOT the case at all!! He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Being a hero per say standing up to a Bully and for this he paid for with his life. Brad was just a young man out to enjoy an evening with his friends, he was NOT involved in any gang or drug related group. (see media releases) What we do know is that he was the most loyal and fun loving guy out there and a young man who loved his family so very much.

 

To the douche bag coward that took his life...you took the life away from so many ....Jennie and Mariah will never see or share joy and laughter with there brother any more and Lincoln will forever miss his uncle Brad and our dear lil Bradleigh his niece he never got to meet will miss out so much, but always will be his namesake. Sue and Rob will never see their son’s infectious smile or see him accomplish his goals and dreams and never again will they be able to tell him how proud of him they are or tell him how much they love him! Blake his stepfather will forever miss his Buddy. An amazing man, son, step-son, brother, uncle, nephew, cousin, grandson, boyfriend and best friend anyone could have. And if you met him you’ll never forget him. All for what?? We all feel so cheated that someone thought they had the right to end his life!!!

 

So today I want to address you all not just as Brads friend but as a community, we need to bring awareness of these dangerous surrounding our children place themselves in, the criminals in our communities that prey on them and the justice system that MUST put them away for their horrible crimes for the rest of their lives. Losing a loved one is one the hardest things to go through. Losing a loved one to murder is devastating. That is why it's really disturbing when someone preys on that pain. Most debates about the criminal justice system are criticized for not focusing enough on the impact that violence has on victims and their families. This is a fight that BC Victims Services try’s to bring awareness to the community. They have been the foundation for many families who have suffered the loss of a family member to murder. But the biggest factor that they are faced with is how the victims and their family never get enough help and a VOICE TO BE HEARD. However, all families face years of appeals by these criminals where is the justice in this, why should their voices be heard, why should they be able to ask for any extra time to speak or be heard. My son didn’t get a choice to be heard. He spoke up on someone else's behalf and was murder for it. –

 

We want these criminals off the street, prosecuted quick for their crimes and put away for the rest of their miserable lives....no more agonizing wait for anyone seeking closure. I just want him to NEVER have the opportunity to kill another person or hurt any family again. He has done so much damage in these last 2 1/2 years and we need to rid the streets of our community of people like him who are an extreme danger to our society. Again and again, we are hearing of people who are stepping up and speaking out to these wretched people while trying to protect another and they are being murdered. Then we are faced with fear factors from witness whom are too frightened to come forth and report what they’ve witnessed for fear of retaliation. If we take away their power, then we eliminate the fear. Put an end to the “BULLY SYNDROM”. HELP US IN OUR FIGHT TO BRING THESE CRIMINIALS IN AND PUT THEM AWAY FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES SO THEY WILL NEVER HURT ANOTHER PERSON AGAIN…..JOIN US “RID THE STREETS”