1st-degree murder charge laid in South Vancouver shooting

Images from the scene show a multi-vehicle crash and a tarp covering what appears to be a body on the ground. (CTV News)

The suspect in a fatal shooting in South Vancouver last month was arrested Wednesday in Alberta, Vancouver police said Friday.

Rylee Shipley, a 27-year-old from Langley, has been charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder with a firearm and aggravated assault in connection to the July 26 double-shooting that left one man dead and another injured.

Police were called to the intersection of East 63rd Avenue and Inverness Street just before 9 p.m. that day after receiving "reports that two men had been shot in a vehicle, which then collided with two other vehicles," the Vancouver Police Department said.

One man, 25-year-old Hitkaran Johal, died at the scene. The second victim was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

At the time, police said they believed the shooting was targeted and there was no ongoing risk to the public.

They also said they were working to determine whether a vehicle fire set near East 63rd Avenue and Prince Edward Street shortly after the shooting was related. Vehicle fires are often a hallmark of gang-related violence, though the VPD has not said whether it believes this particular incident was gang-related.

The VPD thanked the Calgary Police Service and Alberta RCMP for their "significant assistance" in arresting Shipley, who remains in custody.

Police said investigators are still asking witnesses who have not yet done so to come forward by contacting the VPD Homicide Unit at 604-717-2500.