Rachel Davis to be awarded Medal of Bravery

Stratford Gazette





A former Stratford resident and Stratford Central Secondary School student is being posthumously awarded the Medal of Bravery by the governor general.

The award, announced May 23, will honour Rachel Davis for her actions on Jan. 3, 2004.

After leaving a club in Vancouver, Davis, 23, stepped in to break up a fight between two rival gangs.

Jumping on a victim to shield him from the blows, a gun was pulled out and shots were fired. Davis received a gunshot wound to the head and died on her way to the hospital.

Richard Hui, 24, was also killed in the incident and five others were injured.

In July, Imran Saff Sharif was sentenced to life without a chance of parole for 25 years for the incident.

In an interview with The Province, a B.C.-based newspaper, her father Bruce Davis said his daughter was always protecting her friends and he knew one day she would receive recognition for her selfless act.

He added the pain of losing his daughter in an act of violence will never end. In a interview with the Gazette in October 2004, Davis said he hoped his daughter's death would bring "some social improvement."

North Vancouver honoured Davis, the daughter of actor Janet Wright, with the Rachel Davis Random Acts of Kindness Pathway at a local skate park.

The Medal of Bravery will be handed out at Rideau Hall sometime next month. In total, 15 decorations for bravery will be awarded.