Brian Smith Brian Desmond ( Smitty ) Smith ( September 6 , 1940 – August 2 , 1995 ) was a Canadian athlete and sportscaster . Smith was born in Ottawa , Ontario , the son of former professional ice hockey player Des Smith and brother of former professional hockey goaltender Gary Smith . Smith was a professional ice hockey player from 1960 to 1973 . After his career , he was a broadcaster for CJOH - TV in Ottawa , until he was murdered in 1995 . Career . Brian played junior hockey for the Brockville Canadiens in 1959 – 60 , making a Memorial Cup appearance in 1960 . He began his professional ice hockey career with the Hull - Ottawa Canadiens of the EPHL from 1960 to 1963 . He refused to report to the Springfield Indians in 1963 because he was wary of mistreatment by coach Eddie Shore . He played the 1963 – 64 season in Austria , under the assumed name Bobby Smith before joining the Indians , but only after being suspended by International Ice Hockey Federation President Bunny Ahearne for playing without his release . He played for the Indians from 1964 to 1967 and participated in the team ' s strike against Shore in 1966 . Smith , along with teammate Bill White , got the then little - known Alan Eagleson to represent the players in the conflict , which eventually started Eagleson ' s career as an agent . The players refused to practice and ultimately Shore was forced to sell the team to Kings owner Jack Kent Cooke for $ 900 , 000 . When the NHL expanded in 1967 , he was one of the players transferred to the new Los Angeles Kings franchise when they purchased the Indians franchise and its contracts , and he was one of the original Kings ' players , playing the 1966 – 67 season with the Kings . He became the first player to score an NHL goal against his brother , as Phil Esposito was to score against his brother Tony for the first time the next season . In the following season , he played for the Phoenix Roadrunners of the Western Hockey League and the Memphis South Stars of the CHL . He then returned to the NHL with the Minnesota North Stars in 1968 – 69 , and finished his career with the WHA Houston Aeros in 1972 – 73 . He broke his jaw in an exhibition game and soon after his career ended . In 1973 , Smith joined Ottawa television station CJOH - TV as the station ' s 6 p . m . sports anchor , a position he held until his death . He also participated in charitable activities , and especially the Ottawa Boys and Girls Club . Death . On August 1 , 1995 , Smith was shot in CJOH ' s parking lot , just minutes after the end of the station ' s 6 p . m . newscast . He was on his way to a charitable fund - raising event for the Children ' s Wish Foundation . He died about 18 hours later on August 2 in the Ottawa Civic Hospital . The gunman , Jeffrey Arenburg , was an escaped mental patient who had gone to CJOH because he thought the station was broadcasting messages in his head . Smith was not the intended target , but was the first broadcast personality that Arenburg saw and recognized coming out of the building . His death was a shock to the Ottawa sports community . The Ottawa Senators honoured Brian with a ' Smitty 18 ' patch on their jerseys , which they wore for the 1995 – 96 season and with a banner hanging in the rafters at Scotiabank Place . Flags flew at half - mast for a baseball game of the Ottawa Lynx , and a tribute was held at a game of the Ottawa Rough Riders , where players raised their helmets , while the crowd joined in a one - minute cheer . Arenburg was found to be mentally deficient and was sentenced to a mental institution in 1997 . He had previously been sentenced to a mental institution but had never reported . An inquest into Smith ' s killing recommended there should be more public protection and significant changes to the Mental Health Act of Ontario . The end result , Brian ' s Law , was passed on June 21 , 2000 by the Ontario Legislature . Smith ' s widow , " Ottawa Citizen " journalist Alana Kainz , established the Brian Smith Memorial Scholarship fund in Smith ' s memory , which provides tuition funds to attend college or university . It is administered by the Ottawa Boys and Girls Club . In 2001 , the club renamed its summer camp from Camp Minwassin to Camp Smitty in Smith ' s honour . CJOH - TV established the Brian Smith Foundation to give disadvantaged children and young adults in the Ottawa region an opportunity to participate in athletics , recreation and education .