Police urge parents to ‘step up’ after Abbotsford senior gunned down
ABBOTSFORD — Police say it’s time for Abbotsford parents to stop protecting those involved in a violent conflict that resulted in the fatal shooting of a 74-year- old bystander Wednesday.
And Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun said the murder of the man, who lived next door to a targeted house on Promontory Court, should be the “wake-up call” that ends a vicious feud between two groups that has gone on for 18 months.
“Some people know who these people are,” Braun said at a news conference.
“And I implore them to come forward and help the police get to the bottom of this because enough is enough.”
Staff Sgt. Jennifer Pound of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said the victim was standing behind a gate in his side yard in the 3500 block of Promontory Court when shots rang out about 7:15 Wednesday night. Several hit the targeted house, which police have visited several times during the lengthy dispute.
The Sun has learned a 19-yearold named Parmvir Chahil lives in the targeted house. He was charged in July with uttering threats and possessing a weapon for dangerous purposes.
Chahil is due in Abbotsford provincial court on Sept. 10.
Pound said the shooter or shooters were in a dark SUV and wouldn’t have seen the victim from the street.
The man’s name has not yet been released as his family comes to terms with the loss.
He was “a family man, a true victim in all senses of the word. He got caught up in this outside of his own residence,” Pound said. “This is just a really unfortunate example of what this violence can create. There is a devastated family left behind to grieve this with a lot of questions that they are not going to get answered for some time.”
Both Pound and Abbotsford Police Const. Ian MacDonald said it’s time for parents of the youth involved in the conflict to co-operate with police.
“We need parents to step up. And I hope that this tragic incident serves as a watershed moment,” MacDonald said. “This should be where the community says that’s it, no more stonewalling. No more silence. This is where we do something about it.”
There are 25 to 30 on each side, MacDonald said, ranging in age from 15 to 25. Some are hard-core gangsters involved in the drug trade. Others are kids caught up in the feud.
There have been more than 60 police incidents since it started — some minor like property damage or rumbles. But there have also been arsons, six shootings, a serious stabbing and now two murders.
On Oct. 2, 2014, Harwindip Baringh, 18, was shot to death not far from Wednesday’s shooting. No one has been charged. Court documents obtained earlier by The Sun described him as associated to the “Chahil crime group” — a rival of the Dhaliwal crime group.
“There are a lot of cross-currents to it,” MacDonald said of the conflict.
Police have done everything they can to stem the violence, including putting a surveillance camera on the cul-de-sac where the 74-year-old was killed. They’re hoping that camera will now provide footage of the killers’ vehicle.
A special community safety forum has been scheduled for Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. at the Abbotsford Arts Centre, 2329 Crescent Way.
The murder of an uninvolved bystander has rocked the west Abbotsford neighbourhood of well-kept homes overlooking rolling hills.
“This innocent man — I feel so bad for him,” said Daljit Sidhu, who lives one street over. “It’s terrible. It shouldn’t be happening in a good neighbourhood.”
Sidhu was cleaning his truck when he heard the shots — unsure at first if they were firecrackers or bullets. There were four pops, then a pause, then another four, he said.
He got in his truck and drove closer, but couldn’t see anything. He returned home as the police sirens rang out.
“It would have been worse if the weather was not cold,” he said. “There would have been more people outside. Every day there are kids there. I’ve been living here probably for 10, 15 years now and there’s kids, elderly people coming around.”
He said he saw the victim regularly, though he had never spoken to him.
“That older fellow, he is always there. I see him all the time standing outside in the evenings,” Sidhu said.
He said it’s time for something to be done to stem the violence now that an innocent man has died.
“This should be addressed. Somebody has to step up. It’s not a matter of whose kids they are, which community it is. It is affecting the community. It shouldn’t be happening here. It is getting worse and worse. In the last three weeks, how many shootings have we had?”
Neighbour Harvinder Dhaliwal said his children are afraid after hearing the shots.
He has only lived in the area for about a year and has never seen problems, though the security camera hinted that something was amiss.
“I think police know something was going to happen here,” he said. “It’s very bad luck for Abbotsford. One week ago some gunshots on Sandpiper, then a man got killed here. It’s very bad.”
He said his children have always played outside.
“Now they are scared to play in front of our home,” he said.
This should be where the community says that’ sit, no more stone walling. No more silence. This is where we do something aboutit.
CONST. IAN MacDONALD
ABBOTSFORD POLICE OFFICER