11-year-old targeted, Edmonton police say
Boy was gunned down alongside father in daytime, brazen gang-related shooting
An 11-year-old boy slain alongside his father in a targeted shooting in south Edmonton was intentionally killed, not “caught in the crossfire,” police say.
Harpreet Singh Uppal, 41, and his son were gunned down outside a gas station Thursday afternoon in a brazen, daytime shooting just a block from a daycare, Edmonton Police Service acting Supt. Colin Derksen told media during a sombre news conference Friday.
The boy's young friend, who was in Uppal's car at the time, survived with no physical injuries.
Derksen said police do not know whether the shooter or shooters knew children were in the car when they began following Uppal.
“But what we do know, sadly, is that once the shooter or the shooters learned that the son was there, they intentionally shot and killed him.”
He added killing children was once a “line in the sand” gang members refused to cross, but that is changing.
“That is sick and twisted,” Derksen said. “I think most gang members would agree.”
Police have not released the name of the boy, pending autopsy.
Derksen confirmed Uppal and his family were the targets of a 2021 shooting in which a gunman fired through the window of a south Edmonton Royal Pizza where they were having dinner.
The lone man charged in the case — Harsh Jindal, who police claimed was the getaway driver — had his charges dropped last month, court records show.
The Alberta Crown Prosecution Service said the charges were stayed after a preliminary inquiry led prosecutors to conclude there was “no longer a reasonable likelihood of conviction.”
Kristofer Advent, Jindal's lawyer, said his client “has always maintained his innocence with respect to the shooting at the Royal Pizza” and was out of the province at the time of Thursday's violence.
“Mr. Jindal has advised that he was not involved in this incident in any way. He has been outside of Alberta since Oct. 30, 2023, and he was nowhere near Edmonton on Nov. 9, 2023.”
Court records show Uppal was scheduled to face a Court of King 's Bench trial next May on charges of possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, possessing stolen property and possessing illegal body armour.
`MY SON, MY SON'
City police officers swarmed the scene near 50 Street and Ellerslie Road around noon Thursday, finding Uppal and his son in medical distress. Both died of their injuries at the scene.
By 2 p.m., more than a dozen police vehicles had closed 52 Street and taped off a sprawling commercial complex centred around a Petro-canada gas station and A&W. Investigators had covered the bodies, which lay on the pavement next to a Chevrolet car with its doors open.
To the south, a group of nearly 20 people had gathered near a Popeyes restaurant just outside the police tape. Some wept and held each other. One woman was led away in tears after collapsing to the ground.
Derksen said a suspect vehicle — a stolen 2012 BMW X6 — was located on fire near 34 Street and Township Road 510 north of Beaumont. No one was located inside the vehicle and no injuries were reported as a result of the fire.
As of Friday morning, police had made no arrests and identified no suspects.
Candice Marshall, a nearby resident, was picking up a parcel shortly after police taped off the initial scene. She said she was shocked to see feet sticking out from under two tarps.
“I saw the ambulance and then I saw the feet under white blankets.”
Marshall said a woman arrived at the scene a short time later and wailed, “My son, my son.”
She heard another woman cry, “Daddy, daddy, not my daddy.”
QUESTIONS OF RETALIATION
Derksen said Uppal was a higher-level figure in Edmonton's organized crime scene, but declined to say if he was affiliated with any specific groups. He also declined to say whether police believe the shooting was retaliation for other violence, or whether retaliation for Uppal's killing is expected.
Sources have told Postmedia Uppal was a prominent Brothers Keepers associate.
His murder is believed to be part of a war between the UN gang and the BK. One source said, “The BK and UN conflict is out of control.”
While originating in the Vancouver area, the tit-for-tat slayings are now happening across the country. The day before Uppal was killed, B.C. UN gangster Parmvir Chahil was shot to death in Toronto. Sources say the killings may be linked.
Derksen said it was too early to say “if there's a connection” to violence in other cities, “or if there is, how far-reaching it is.”
Police said the details of the shooting were immediately posted to social media and detectives are hoping to speak with anyone with information. Anyone with security or dash camera footage that was active in the area at the time is also encouraged to contact police.