THE Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) announced on Tuesday that Islam Nagem and Edrick Raju have been charged with first-degree murder and Michael Schweiger has been charged with second-degree murder in the December 2017 homicide of Alexander Blanarou, 24, of Surrey in Abbotsford.

On December 28, 2017, just before 2:30 p.m., the Abbotsford Police Department received a report of a possible shooting in the 5300-block of Bates Road near Harris Road.  Police found a deceased male at the scene with gunshot wounds and IHIT was called in.

The next day IHIT announced that the victim was Blanarou who known to police and said that the evidence suggested this was a targeted homicide.