Tony Menard
Nanaimo's business community is in a state of shock over the news that the son of a prominent local businessman has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of his father.
RCMP said yesterday they have charged a 22-year-old man in the shooting death of his 52-year-old father on Sunday during a family camping trip near Nitinat Lake on Vancouver Island.
Police have declined to release names until the accused makes his first court appearance Thursday. However, friends and colleagues identified the victim as Tony Menard, owner of VMAC, an award-winning Nanaimo firm specializing in vehicle-mounted air compressors.
A source also confirmed that the accused is Mr. Menard's 22-year-old son, Brendon Menard.
"This is a terrible, terrible loss for Nanaimo," said Mark MacDonald, publisher of the Nanaimo-based Business Examiner newspaper. "He was a great corporate citizen and an excellent employer who provided a lot of jobs for a lot of people.
"We've given VMAC numerous awards over the years."
VMAC staff did not return a call requesting comment on Tuesday. A message on the company's home page requested "patience and understanding during this initial period of grief.
"The entire VMAC family is deeply saddened, and will greatly miss VMAC owner and president, Tony Menard, who died suddenly and unexpectedly. … in an unfortunate accident in the Somerset Mountain Range in a remote area of western Vancouver Island," the message said.
Vancouver Island RCMP say five "adult men from the same family" were target shooting around noon on Sunday when the victim was shot "multiple times." Unable to pinpoint the remote location, RCMP and air ambulance personnel did not arrive until 5:30 p.m., by which time the victim had "succumbed to his injuries," police said.
Mr. Menard's 22-year-old son was arrested at the scene and remains in custody.
"Tony really was larger than life. He was one of those people when you meet them you don't forget them," said VMAC co-founder Jim Hogan, a childhood friend of Mr. Menard's.
" … When you looked into his eyes, you could see something special there."
Mr. Hogan and Mr. Menard grew up together in Nanaimo and both graduated from the University of British Columbia's school of engineering in 1982, he said.
Mr. Hogan declined to comment on the shooting or the criminal charges against Mr. Menard's son.
At its peak in 2009, VMAC employed 85 people, although that number has dropped slightly due to the recession, said Mr. Hogan, who left VMAC last year to start his own company.
RCMP Corporal Darren Lagan said searchers were dispatched within minutes of receiving the first of several 911 calls from the victim's family members on Sunday.
However, weak cellphone signals prevented air ambulance helicopters from pinpointing the location for several hours, he said.
"A lot of people think that cellphones are failsafe, but they're not satellite phones and they don't always work where you're way out in the wilderness," Cpl. Lagan said.