{
  "id": 1587016,
  "title": "B.C. couple awarded damages against neighbour after 2022 shooting",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/17/b-c-couple-awarded-damages-against-neighbour-after-2022-shooting",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-17T22:52:22.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Winnipeg Free Press",
    "slug": "winnipeg-free-press",
    "url": "https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/2026/08/17/b-c-couple-awarded-damages-against-neighbour-after-2022-shooting"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In a landmark decision, the British Columbia Supreme Court has awarded over $1 million in damages to Anthony and Wendy Nelson, a couple from Sooke, British Columbia, following a 2022 shooting incident. The Nelsons were left with lifelong injuries and psychological trauma after witnessing their neighbour, Paul Tregear, shoot Anthony Nelson at extremely close range with a .22-calibre rifle.\n\nTregear, who was found guilty of aggravated assault and firearms charges, was sentenced to seven years in prison. He represented himself at the civil trial, held via video from within prison, and contested the notion that he had committed the shooting, despite the court's conviction.\n\nJustice Julie Gibson of the B.C. Supreme Court awarded the couple $767,000 for assault and battery against Anthony Nelson and more than $279,000 for intentional infliction of mental suffering to Wendy Nelson. The ruling also mandated Tregear to pay approximately $64,000 in health-care costs linked to the shooting. The incident occurred after a series of disputes between the neighbors.\n\nGibson criticized Tregear's defense for his \"exceptionally poor insight and a callous disregard for the Nelsons' suffering,\" highlighting that his position on liability \"constitutes an abuse of process that ignores the findings of his guilt at his criminal trial.\" The court found Tregear liable for both the assault and battery on Anthony Nelson and the intentional infliction of mental suffering on Wendy Nelson.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}