VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- A just-fired employee of a Canadian health products company crashed the office Christmas party in Vancouver, killing the chief executive officer, police said.
Vancouver police identified the victim of the Friday night shooting at the TallGrass Distributors Ltd. Christmas party as Benjamin Banky, 40, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
Police said Eric Allen Kirkpatrick, 61, surrendered after two hours of negotiations with police and was charged Saturday with first-degree murder, the CBC reported.
Kirkpatrick had been dismissed from his job Thursday. Authorities said they did not know how long he had worked at TallGrass or the reasons for his termination.
Other employees of TallGrass Distributors Ltd. escaped unharmed, The Vancouver Sun reported.
"A man who apparently had just been let go from his job there came in, shot and killed another man," Police Constable Tim Fanning said. "Our negotiators got on the phone with him right away, and fortunately were able to talk him down from his very, very excited and upset state."
Police blocked the street in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood. Employees of other companies in the area were asked to stay where they were until the surrendered.
TallGrass distributes products based on hemp, including Body Dope, a brand of skincare products.
