JUST after 11 p.m. on Saturday, September 5, a vehicle was travelling in the 2500-block of McCallum Road of Abbotsford when it was shot at by occupants of another vehicle.
Police say preliminary information indicates that individuals in a dark-coloured SUV fired multiple shots at the targeted vehicle.
Abbotsford Police patrol officers responded and confirmed that a shooting had occurred. Fortunately, no one was injured in this incident.
Shortly after the shooting, officers responded to a report of a vehicle fire in the 2400-block of Sunnyside Place. Upon arrival, officers found an SUV fully engulfed in flames.
Sources told The VOICE that the vehicle was reportedly part of the convoy of cars in connection with Punjabi singer Ammy Virk (Amninderpal Singh Virk) who had performed at Rogers Forum earlier that evening. Sources also said the vehicle that was shot at was bullet-proof.
But further probing showed that the targeted vehicle was the one in which the singer and the show’s promoter, the son of the owner of the Punjabi radio station Swift 1200 AM in Surrey that was targeted last year, were travelling in.
Virk’s father, Kuljit Singh, told the Indian media later that Ammy’s brother Bhagwant, who speaks to the singer daily, had informed him that the shooting was not directed at Ammy’s vehicle. The attack was instead related to the party that had organised the singer’s show.
Abbotsford Police told The VOICE on Tuesday that they could not comment on “any investigative avenues surrounding details of this case.”
“The investigation remains ongoing, and investigators continue to gather evidence and advance the case,” said Sgt. Paul Walker.
He added: “We are appealing to anyone with information that may assist investigators to contact police. Any information, no matter how minor it may seem, could be valuable to the investigation.”
The Abbotsford Police’s Major Crime Unit has assumed conduct of the investigation and is working to determine the motive for the shooting and whether the vehicle fire is connected to the incident. Early indications suggest that this incident was targeted.
Major Crime investigators are appealing to anyone who was in the area of the 2500 -block of McCallum Road between 10:45 p.m. and 11:30 p.m., or in the area of the 2400-block of Sunnyside Place between 11 p.m. and midnight, on September 5 who may have witnessed suspicious activity or captured dashcam footage to contact the Abbotsford Police Department at 604-859-5225.
Photo: Virk’s Instagram
ACCORDING to Wikipedia: “Amninderpal Singh Virk (born 11 May 1992), better known as Ammy Virk, is an Indian singer, actor and producer. He established himself as a singer in the Punjabi music industry, with his music album Jattizm winning him the PTC Punjabi Music Award for Album of the Year in 2013. Virk expanded into acting playing Hakam in the historical romance Punjabi film Angrej (2015) for which he won the Best Debut Actor Award at PTC Punjabi Film Awards. He later found the production house Villagers Film Studio and a distribution company In House Group in 2017. The Tribune described Virk’s portrayal of Nikka in the Nikka Zaildar film series as one of the most beloved characters of Punjabi cinema.
“Virk enjoyed further success with Punjabi films Bambukat (2016), Ardaas (2016), Laung Laachi (2018), Qismat (2018), and Saukan Saunkne (2022). His films Angrej and Qismat are two of the highest grossing Punjabi films of all time. Virk is also recognised for his Patiala-Shahi turban. He made his Bollywood debut with film Bhuj: The Pride Of India (2021), and went on to work in other Hindi ventures like Bad Newz (2024) and Khel Khel Mein (2024).”
About his “early life,” Wikipedia states: “Born as Amninderpal Singh Virk on 11 May 1992 to a Sikh Jat family in the village of Lohar Majra in Nabha, Patiala. He did a BSc in Biotechnology at the Punjabi University in Patiala. In an interview with The Tribune he said, “It was my mother who told me that I should try singing. I have learned it. I am a singer because of my mother and I love her for having faith in me.””
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