ALBERTA RCMP announced on Tuesday that Jimmy Gassner, 18, of Lloydminster was arrested in Canoe Lake, Saskatchewan, on Saturday and has been charged with second-degree murder in the March 14 shooting death of 22-year-old Birinder Singh.
Gassner remains in custody and will be transported back to Alberta.
Birinder Singh was shot and killed on Saturday, March 14, at approximately 2:50 p.m., while driving with friends on Highway 2 near Township Road 490 near Edmonton.
RCMP said that a white or grey pickup truck was witnessed pulling up besides a black 2012 Honda Civic. Shortly after, the truck sped off while the Honda Civic pulled over to the side of the road. The investigation revealed a weapon was discharged towards the Honda Civic, resulting in the death of the driver.
A grey 2022 Ford F-150 driven by the suspect was later recovered.
Two childhood friends of Birinder Singh told Global News that they were driving to Banff when the shooting occurred. They said a bullet pierced Birinder Singh’s neck and he gestured to them that he had been shot. They managed to take over the wheel and bring the car to a stop and call 911.
They said that Birinder Singh came to Canada three years ago and had moved to Edmonton last October. He was studying business administration and also working.
The World Sikh Organization of Canada called on the Alberta RCMP Major Crimes Unit to investigate this killing as a potential hate-motivated crime.
A GoFundMe set up by Punarmeet Singh, who said he was the victim’s brother, raised more than $25,000 of its goal of $19,000 to bring his brother’s body to India. A friend of Birinder Singh told CBC that his body was sent to his family in India on Monday.
