The Law Courts building, which is home to B.C. Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, is seen in Vancouver, on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
ECVICTORIA - The British Columbia Supreme Court has awarded more than $1 million in damages in a shooting that left a man with lifelong injuries and his wife traumatized after witnessing the violent confrontation.Â
Anthony and Wendy Nelson of Sooke, B.C., sued their neighbour Paul Tregear for shooting Anthony Nelson at point-blank range with a .22-calibre rifle in May 2022.Â
Tregear was convicted of aggravated assault and firearms charges last year and sentenced to seven years in prison.Â
The B.C. Supreme Court ruling released Monday says Tregear acted as his own lawyer, attending court by video in prison, and claimed it was "unproven" that he'd shot the man, despite being found guilty.Â
Justice Julie Gibson awarded $767,000 to Anthony Nelson for assault and battery and more than $279,000 to Wendy Nelson for intentional infliction of mental suffering for seeing her husband get shot by Tregear.Â
The ruling in civil court also ordered Tregear to pay the provincial government about $64,000 in health-care costs related to the shooting, which occurred after a history of disputes between the neighbours.Â
Gibson chided Tregear in the ruling for not admitting to the shooting during the civil trial, showing "exceptionally poor insight and a callous disregard for the Nelsons’ suffering."
"His position on liability, at least up until his closing, constitutes an abuse of process that ignores the findings of his guilt at his criminal trial," she said.Â
"I find Mr. Tregear liable to Mr. Nelson for the tort of assault and battery and to Ms. Nelson for intentional infliction of mental suffering. Even if I were not bound by the findings in the criminal proceeding, I would have made the same liability findings on the evidence before me in this trial."
The sentencing ruling in Tregear's criminal trial says he claimed he brought the gun onto the Nelsons' property to warn them about a bear, but the judge found Tregear lied about the bear and went to his neighbour's property with the intention of shooting the man.
This report by ºÃÉ«tvwas first published Aug. 17, 2026.Â
The ºÃÉ«tv Press
For many Indigenous communities, access to financial services and economic opportu…
Trust in international money transfers has long been tied to physical places: a ba…
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Tax: | |
| Today's total: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
