TUESDAY UPDATE: Punjabi newspaper Sanjha Punjab is reporting that Gill was shot dead by a roofer who then shot himself. The person who was seriously injured at the construction site is an engineer.
Edmonton Police had said on Monday night that two males, a 49-year-old and a 57-year-old were deceased, and a 51-year-old male was seriously injured.
BUTA Singh Gill, owner of Gill Built Homes Ltd., was one of two men who were shot and killed in Edmonton on Monday, according to Gill’s close friend, Moe Banga, a former Edmonton Police Service investigator and former city councillor.
Around 1 p.m., Edmonton Police tweeted: “Police are asking citizens to avoid the area of Cavanagh Blvd SW and 30 Avenue SW while police investigate a shooting that occurred in the residential area around noon. There are no immediate concerns for public safety at this time and responding officers have secured the scene. EPS homicide investigators will be leading this investigation.”
Well-known Punjabi journalist Gurpreet Singh Sahota of Surrey was the first to reveal in a tweet that “a well-known Punjabi builder was shot at a construction site near the The Meadows Community Recreation Centre in Edmonton’s Millwood area, his condition is extremely critical.”
Banga told the local media that Gill was checking on his workers when the shooting occurred. Gill leaves behind a wife, daughter and son.
Lindsay Hilton, who said she witnessed the shooting as she was driving home, told CTV News Edmonton that she saw a black Nissan car pulling out of a construction site, executing a U-turn and then driving up behind a man who was walking down Cavanagh Boulevard in construction attire. The car bumped the man.
Hilton said: “The man in the construction vest had his gun out, pointed at the car and shot once into the driver’s side window.” Hilton drove right around the corner and then heard two more gunshots. She called 911.
On Monday night, Edmonton Police said in a press statement that at approximately 12 p.m., patrol officers responded to the report of a shooting in the area of Cavanagh Boulevard SW and Cherniak Way SW. Police located three injured males.
EMS responded and determined two males, a 49-year-old and a 57-year-old were deceased, and a 51-year-old male was seriously injured. Paramedics transported the surviving male to hospital with serious life-threatening injuries.
EPS Homicide Section has since taken over the investigation. Police are not looking for any suspects.
Autopsies have been scheduled for Tuesday, April 9, and Wednesday, April 10.
THERE were some reports that Gill had received extortion threats and had informed the police about these.
In February, The VOICE reported that Edmonton Police were investigating 27 events related to an ongoing extortion series that has affected the South Asian community in the Edmonton region since October, including five extortions, 15 arsons and seven firearms offences.
We wrote: “No injuries have been reported as a result of the shootings, but a firefighter was injured in one of the arsons. An estimated $9 million in property damage has been reported as a result of the arsons and shootings.
“A dedicated project team continues to investigate this series and its connection to organized crime. While similar events have been reported in B.C. and Ontario, at this time, investigators do not believe these to be connected to the Edmonton series.”
