‘Brothers Keepers have taken significant hits’ – Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C. Sgt. Brenda Winpenny
THE Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) identified the victim in Sunday night’s homicide in Surrey as Verron Nand, 21, and is calling on the public to assist its ongoing homicide investigation.
On December 1, at approximately 10:51 p.m., Surrey RCMP responded to reports of gunfire in the area of 136A Street and 114th Avenue. Nand was found on the ground with gunshot wounds along with a second male victim. Nand was pronounced dead at scene and the second male was taken to hospital and is currently in stable condition.
IHIT had said on Monday that both men were known to police.
IHIT has conduct of the investigation and is working closely with the Surrey RCMP, the Integrated Forensic Identification Services and the B.C. Coroners Service to gather evidence.
“We believe this was a targeted shooting and determining the motive is one of our priorities right now,” said IHIT Sgt. Frank Jang. “We are especially appealing to Verron’s closest friends and associates to help us understand why anyone would do him harm.”
Meanwhile, police are trying to find out if a vehicle that was found in flames in south Burnaby at Fraser Park Drive and Byrne Creek Road in the early morning could be connected to the Surrey shooting.
POLICE sources confirmed that Nand was a member of Brothers Keepers crime group.
Back in August, The VOICE had reported that a gang expert source said that the Brothers Keepers are almost exclusively South Asian and have been around for about 18 months to two years.
“They are an evolution of a number of people and their little groups coming together to form BK [Brothers Keepers]. They’ve been sort of on the radar officially for the last couple of years. They’re one group that have been involved in the Lower Mainland Gang Conflict that’s evolved from the Townline Hill [Abbotsford]-Vancouver [South Slope] conflict,” according to the source.
“They are fairly independent. They are in conflict with the Wolf Pack. So one side of the Wolf Pack is sort of an alliance or partnership with the Red Scorpions and Hells Angels groups and Independent Soldiers and all of their sorts of friends.
“BK is sort of sandwiched between the Wolf Pack side and the remnants of Duhre-United Nations.”
On Tuesday, Sgt. Brenda Winpenny, of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C. (CFSEU-BC), told The VOICE that the Brothers Keepers have taken significant hits.
She noted: “Their numbers have dwindled fairly significantly, but they have been trying to recruit replacements. They are still around, just not in the same sort of numbers they were in a year or a year and a half ago.”
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, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).