VIOLENT START TO THE YEAR
Police agencies across the Lower Mainland are sharing intelligence after a rash of suspected gang and drug-related shootings
Police agencies across the Lower Mainland are sharing intelligence after a rash of suspected gang and drug-related shootings and murders in January.
There have been at least 10 shootings in the region, with seven victims so far in 2017, according to data compiled from police news releases.
On Tuesday, Abbotsford Police responded to a targeted double shooting that left two gang-linked men with serious injuries. And the night before in Surrey, 22-year-old Karanpartap Waraich died after he was shot while driving down 96th Avenue.
Staff Sgt. Jennifer Pound of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said Waraich’s death was targeted and that he’s known to police.
“It’s too soon to speculate the exact reason for the homicide, but any links between his past, up to the time of his death, will form a part of our investigation,” she said Wednesday.
Abbotsford investigators are looking for a mid-2000s dark-coloured Ford Explorer in connection with their latest shooting — the city’s third this year, Sgt. Judy Bird said.
Bird said the violence and conflicts are not confined to a single city or area in the region.
“We are working with other agencies within our own province, as well as other provinces, to try to come together and share the information we have, as well as intelligence we have, to start making connections if we can,” Bird said Wednesday. “We are trying to see if we can somehow prevent further violence from occurring.”
She said the brazen nature of Tuesday’s shooting, after which the targets crashed into another vehicle, was particularly disturbing.
“The violence involved in these incidents is abhorrent and exceptionally concerning for us and the citizens we protect,” Bird said.
“The concern is you can’t put one specific finger on where they are. We have almost every police agency in the Lower Mainland, if not in British Columbia and past British Columbia to Alberta, having to respond to these violent incidents.”
Some of the local shootings are believed to be linked to the double-murder of Navdeep Sidhu and Harman Mangat in Edmonton on Jan. 11. Both were Metro Vancouver gang associates involved in the drug trade.
Edmonton Police media officer Patrycia Thenu said Wednesday that she had no additional information to release about the case.
Sources told Postmedia that several Lower Mainland gangsters have relocated to Alberta in recent months for security reasons and to expand their drug lines.
Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton, of the anti-gang Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, said it’s inaccurate to call recent gunplay “a new conflict.”
“As I’ve said many times, there is always conflict and tension between groups and individuals. While some of the names have changed, the conflicts between individuals, groups, etc. ebb and flow. We’ve seen that many times in the last 20 years,” Houghton said.
“From our perspective, it’s far too early to say whether there may be any connections and that would be up to the investigative agencies.”
Vancouver Police officers are investigating two 2017 shootings. On Jan. 8, a 54-year-old man was wounded at house on West 58th Avenue, near Cartier Street, just before midnight. No one was injured in a Jan. 19 shooting at a house near Knight and East 54th Avenue.
“We liaise with outside agencies each time we have a serious incident here in Vancouver to determine if there are possible links to other offences,” Const. Jason Doucette said.
There have been three shootings in Surrey in 2017, including Monday’s fatality. In Richmond, another young man facing trafficking charges was shot to death Jan. 10.
Bird said that despite the violence, a local citizen jumped in to help the victims of Tuesday’s shooting in Abbotsford.
“The two men approached him saying ‘we need help’ and the first reaction was for him to help and take them for medical attention since medical attention wasn’t there yet,” Bird said. “As much as this is a horrific incident and very scary for our citizens ... for the most part people that live in our communities are really good people who just really want to help.”