1 dead after 'targeted' South Vancouver shooting, police say

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

One person is dead and three people were taken to hospital after what police believe was a targeted shooting in South Vancouver Friday night.

The Vancouver Police Department said it was called to East 63rd Avenue and Inverness Street just before 9 p.m. "for reports of two men shot in a vehicle, which then collided with two other vehicles."

Images from the crash scene at Fraser Street and Southeast Marine Drive show multiple vehicles behind police tape and a tarp covering what appears to be a body on the ground.

The VPD said in a statement Saturday that one man was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, while a second, identified as 25-year-old Hitkaran Johal, died at the scene.

BC Emergency Health Services said in its own statement Saturday that it dispatched four ambulances to the intersection of Fraser Street and Southeast Marine Drive shortly after 9 p.m.

"Three patients were transported to hospital – one in serious condition and two for precautionary reasons," the BCEHS statement reads.

Police said they're working to determine whether a vehicle fire set near East 63rd Avenue and Prince Edward Street shortly after the shooting is related. Vehicle fires are often a hallmark of gang-related violence.

"No arrests have been made and the investigation remains ongoing," police said. "Investigators believe this shooting was targeted and there is no ongoing public safety risk at this time."

Anyone with information about the incident should call the VPD Homicide Unit at 604-717-2500, police said.