The victim of Richmond's second fatal shooting within the past three days has been identified by investigators, who say they believe the incident is related to the ongoing gang conflict in the Lower Mainland.
Dilraj Johal, 28, was found with "multiple gunshot wounds" in his condo near Lansdowne and No. 3 roads shortly before midnight on Saturday. He was transported to hospital but later died of his injuries, said Sgt. Frank Jang, spokesperson with the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT).
Johal was known to police and his shooting is believed to be targeted, said Jang.
There have been several gang-related shootings in Metro Vancouver over the past two weeks.
"It's no secret that IHIT had an eventful past two weeks and investigators are working long hours," said Insp. Michelle Tansey, Acting Officer-in-Charge of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT), at a media briefing on Sunday.
“IHIT has had similar situations in our history. Where we have faced several homicides in quick succession section related to gang conflicts. These are challenging times, but we are up to the task.
"There's good momentum on each of our cases that we are working and investigating on, and we will continue to work with our close partners from the Richmond RCMP as well as the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of BC (CSFEU-BC)."
The loss of young men and women to gang violence is "a tragedy and needs to stop," said Michael LeSage, Chief Superintendent of CSFEU-BC.
"Some have lost the understanding of the value of life. Three families within three nights have come to grips with losing a loved one," he said.
"To those of you involved in gangs right now, I say this to you: One person has been killed. This means you as someone who is involved in gang activity are possibly a victim. Now it is time for you to make good choices and get out of it while you can."
Richmond RCMP Supt. Will Ng said police are "working diligently" with law enforcement partners to "put an end to this gang violence."
"The Richmond RCMP are committed to ensure our community is safe. The disruption of organized crime is one of our top priorities," said Ng.
"Someone out there knows something about these incidences and if that person is you, we ask that you come forward to keep yourself and the community safe."
In total, there have been six shootings in Metro Vancouver — five of which have been fatal — over the past two weeks. Saturday’s shooting is the second in Richmond in the past three days.
In a separate incident, Coquitlam RCMP said they responded to a shooting around 1:03 a.m. on Sunday in the 1400-block of Kingston Street, where they found one man with gunshot wounds who was taken to hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. Shortly afterwards, police found a vehicle on fire in the 3500-block of Gislason Ave, which is believed to be connected to that shooting.
It's unclear if the Coquitlam shooting is related to the Lower Mainland gang conflict, Coquitlam RCMP said.
On Thursday night, Richmond RCMP responded to a shooting near Steveston Community Park, which investigators said they believe is related to the Lower Mainland gang conflict. The victim of that shooting has been identified as 29-year-old Anees Mohammed.
The day before Mohammed was shot in Steveston, 24-year-old gangster Gary Kang was killed in Surrey.
In late December 2020, 19-year-old Harman Singh Dhesi and a 14-year-old boy were killed in targeted shootings in Surrey a day apart, on Dec. 27 and Dec. 28.
- With files from Kirsten Clarke
