19-year-old male killed in Abbotsford is 16th South Asian to be murdered in Lower Mainland this year (update)

Jagvir Malhi
Photo courtesy Gurpreet ‘Lucky’ Singh Sahota

THE 19-year-old male shot dead on Monday, November 12 at 3:30 p.m., at the intersection of Simpson Road and Ross Road is the 16th South Asian to be killed in the Lower Mainland this year.

Not a single one of those killings have been solved by the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) or Vancouver Police that is not part of IHIT.

Abbotsford Police Department’s patrol division officers, responding to reports of shots fired on Monday, located an injured male suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. The male victim was transported to hospital by air ambulance. However, he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead shortly after.

According to one witness, the victim was shot in the head and had very little chances of surviving.

The victim who has been identified by the community as Jagvir Malhi used to be a star basketball player in school.

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) was called in.

IHIT said it continues to work closely with its partners, utilizing the expertise of the Abbotsford Police Department and its Forensic Identification Section, along with the BC Coroners Service.

“This shooting occurred near a public school, a blatant disregard for the safety of the community. We are fortunate that school was not in session at this time,” said IHIT Cpl. David Lee on Tuesday. “We believe this incident was not random, and is linked to the ongoing gang conflict in the Lower Mainland.”

Anyone with information is asked to call the IHIT information line at 1-877-551- IHIT (4448), or by email at ihitinfo@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.

Should you wish to remain anonymous, please contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

 

MEANWHILE, the 22-year-old man shot dead in the 14200-block of 70A Avenue on November 9 has been identified as Harvie Thind by community members.

IHIT said the shooting was believed to be a targeted incident and associated to the ongoing Lower Mainland Gang Conflict. But it did not reveal the victim’s name for some strange reason. Community members believe the police did that deliberately because of the ongoing tension with newly elected Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum who wants to replace the RCMP with a Surrey city police force.

IHIT has made it a bad habit of revealing only partial information and then giving more information at their press conferences that not all media are able to attend. Instead of giving out information properly that might help others to come forward and help police, IHIT media spokespersons have a weird way of operating.

If they had revealed the name of the victims in the two cases mentioned above, who knows who all would have contacted them with invaluable information. No wonder they have not been able to solve even one case of the 13 South Asians killed this year in the Lower Mainland (the other three homicides of South Asians this year are being handled by Vancouver Police).

 

 

The other 15 South Asians killed in 2018

 

(The VOICE is updating and highlighting this list each time a South Asian is murdered so that it keeps the police forces on their toes and it keeps our community facing the reality that is ripping it apart)

 

* January:

Sachdeep Dhoot, 18, of Surrey: Last seen on January 9, body found in Vancouver on January 18. Vancouver Police said it appeared to be a targeted murder.

* January 19:

Lovepreet Singh Dhaliwal (Jason), 24, of Abbotsford. Police said he was trying to leave a criminal lifestyle.

* January 27:

Kalwinder Thind, 23, of Richmond, an innocent victim who died outside a downtown Vancouver nightclub on Granville Street while trying to break up a fight.

* February 15:

Kaminder Rai, 32, of Surrey, a realtor who was killed in Vancouver.

* March 9:

Pardip Brar, 23, of Delta, who was killed in Surrey. He was known to police.

* April 26:

Amin Vinepal, 24, of Delta, whose body was found in Surrey. He was known to police.

* June 4:

(Two victims) Jaskarn Singh Jhutty (Jason), 16, and Jaskaran Singh Bhangal (Jesse), 17, both of Surrey. The Frank Hurt Secondary School students’ bodies with gunshot wounds were found on a roadside.

 * July:

Sukhpreet Grewal, 32, of Abbotsford, whose body was found inside a home on July 20. He was known to police.

* August 4:

Gagandeep Singh Dhaliwal, 19, of Abbotsford. He was known to police.

* August 19:

Lakhwinder Singh Bal, 48, of Surrey. He was known to police.

* October 2:

Varinderpal Singh Gill, 19, was shot dead in Mission. Abbotsford Police had issued a public warning about him on August 15.

* October 11:

Sumeet Randhawa, 30, of Surrey, who was known to police, was shot dead.

* October 18:

Mandeep Singh Grewal, who was not known to police, was shot dead in Abbotsford. He was the brother of gangster Gavinder Grewal who was killed in his North Vancouver apartment on December 23, 2017. His other brother, Manvir Grewal, is known to police.

* November 9:

A 22-year-old man was shot dead. He was reportedly not known to police. Although police have not released his name, community members have identified him as Harvie Thind.