‘Half of my face has been destroyed’; Innocent bystander says shooting ruined his life

Crown counsel is seeking eight years in prison, less time already served, for a man convicted in the 2024 shooting of an innocent bystander in Vancouver, while defence counsel is proposing a sentence of five and a half years.

During a sentencing hearing in B.C. Supreme Court Thursday, the victim, anesthesiologist Dr. Neil Naya, described how being shot in the face by a stranger ruined his life.

Court heard Justin Delaney Littlewolfe, 35, was on two firearms prohibitions on April 3, 2024, when he got into a verbal argument with a man referred to as ‘John Doe’ near Homer and West Pender Streets.

According to an Agreed Statement of Facts read by the Crown, Littlewolfe walked away but turned when he was halfway down the street, and pointed a firearm at John Doe.

Littlewolfe tried to shoot, but when the gun jammed, he retreated into an alleyway between Pender and Dunsmuir Streets.

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Court heard Littlewolfe then reappeared and fired two shots at John Doe, while multiple vehicles and pedestrians – including Dr. Neil Naya – were in the area.

Naya had just crossed Homer and was heading eastbound on the north side of Pender Street when he was struck in the face by an errant round.

The physician was left with a hole in his right cheek and required several surgeries, including a 10-hour major reconstruction.

John Doe ran away while Littlewolfe picked up one bullet casing and took off to the Granville Skytrain Station, where Crown said he discarded his bomber jacket to evade police and jumped on a train.

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He was arrested nine days later and has been in custody since.

Littlewolfe was charged with aggravated assault and a firearms offence, and in 2025, was committed to stand trial.

In March, he pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm with intent to wound, maim or disfigure.

Crown counsel argued Littlewolfe, who has a lengthy criminal record and was subject to two firearms prohibitions at the time, left the scene without rendering any assistance to Naya.

“Mr. Littlewolfe is lucky that no one died and that no one else got injured,” prosecutor Jane Park told the court.

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In an impact statement read to the court by a victim services worker, Naya said he was going for a short walk before his evening shift at the hospital, when he heard a firecracker noise and felt warm blood coming down his face.

“I realized I had been shot and I thought I was going to die,” Naya recalled.

The doctor’s statement detailed how he spent three weeks at Vancouver General Hospital and underwent eight surgeries to his eye socket and facial bones.

Naya said he could barely open his mouth for over two months.

“Underneath the skin, half of my face has been destroyed and put together with metal plates,” the anesthesiologist wrote.

Naya, who said he dedicated his career to helping people, described how the shooting not only impacted his life but the health of others whose cancer surgeries were postponed while he was off work recovering.

With chronic pain and recurring health problems, Naya said he can now only work half-time and will have to retire early.

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Repeated delays in getting the case to court, he said, led to his “greatly diminished trust in the legal system”.

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Defence counsel argued Littlewolfe’s life experiences and circumstances as an Indigenous man bear heavily on how he came to be in court.

Court heard Littlewolfe is Cree of the Onion Lake Cree Nation on the Alberta/Saskatchewan provincial border.

Defence said his client lost his mother at age nine and was forcibly removed from his community and extended family at 10 – and placed in a group home in Regina with non-Indigenous caregivers.

“Mr. Littlewolfe’s offending began when he was a teenager after the collapse of his family life,” defence counsel told the court.

Court heard Littlewolfe began drinking and later turned to drugs to deal with his grief.

While Littlewolfe has struggled with homelessness and addiction, defence argued he has considerable prospects for rehabilitation and Downtown Community Court has a case management team willing to work with him.

Littlewolfe, who was supported at the hearing by his partner and aunt, addressed the court and apologized.