OFF THE WIRE
Leah Hadden-Watts is said to be paralyzed after a shooting in Kelowna. Aug. 17, 2011.
The niece of a prominent B.C. Hells Angel is said to be paralyzed from the neck down after this weekend's bloody shooting in Kelowna.
Friends of Leah Hadden-Watts have posted comments online saying that she took a bullet in the neck as gunfire rang out in front of the Delta Grand hotel on Sunday.
"Had two vertebrae removed.... She will be able to move her head up and down and side to side and talk, but that's it," one person wrote on Facebook.
Friends say she underwent seven hours of surgery to remove the bullet..
Neighbours at the Maple Ridge condo complex where Hadden-Watts lived were shocked to hear about her condition.
"She was a real nice girl," one man told CTV News.
Hadden-Watts is said to be the niece of Michael Hadden, who runs the Haney Hawgs motorcycle shop in Maple Ridge and is believed to be a full-patch member of the Haney Hells Angels chapter. Hadden could not be reached for comment.
A second woman was also in the Porsche SUV targeted in the shooting, and online comments have identified her as Lyndsey Black, Hadden-Watts's roommate. No one answered calls Wednesday at the condo where they lived.
Jonathan Bacon, one of the province's most notorious gangsters, was killed in the shooting, while Hells Angel Larry Amero was critically injured and a member of the Independent Soldiers – believed to be James Riach – was also hit.
Police say they will be out in force for Bacon's funeral to ensure public safety, but investigators will also use the opportunity to take photographs and videos of suspected gang associates.
It's not clear when or where the funeral will be held, but Bacon's younger brothers Jamie and Jarrod are both in jail on murder and gun charges and will not be attending.
No arrested have been made in the brazen daytime shooting.
http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110817/bc_kelown_shooting_victim_110817/20110817/?hub=BritishColumbiaHome
