B.C. coroner’s inquest to hear details of Surrey standoff that left suspect, hostage dead [Video]

The British Columbia government will hold a coroner’s inquest next month to determine how a 2019 hostage situation in Surrey ended with both the hostage and the hostage-taker dying in a hail of police bullets.

Nona McEwan, 45, and Randy Crosson, 48, were killed when a 10-hour standoff with police at a home in the Central City area ended after six members of an RCMP emergency response team entered the home and fired their weapons 42 times, according to an April 2020 report from the Independent Investigations Office of B.C.

The deaths on March 29, 2019, were reported to the B.C. Coroners Service, which announced Tuesday that an inquest would begin on April 15 to examine what led to the fatal incident and what changes, if any, can be made to prevent similar situations from occurring.

The 2020 report from the IIO, which relied on video and audio recordings, as well as statements from …