Honda CRV occupants waited for Ripudaman Singh Malik before shooting, police say

Hours before Ripudaman Singh Malik was gunned down in Surrey, B.C., on Thursday, a white Honda CRV pulled up to the shooting scene.

"The occupants were waiting for Mr. Malik," Sgt. David Lee of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said at a news conference Friday.

Authorities have obtained surveillance video showing the vehicle arriving at 8236 128th Street, a complex where Malik ran a business, at around 7 a.m.

He was fatally shot at 9:27 a.m.

A witness, who did not want to be identified, told CTV News he heard three gunshots, and ran to find Malik slumped in another vehicle with a single bullet wound in his neck.

The 75-year-old, who was one of two men acquitted in the notorious 1985 Air India bombings, died at the scene, despite the efforts of police to provide medical care.

Shortly after the shooting, authorities said the same Honda CRV was found fully engulfed in flames near 82nd Avenue and 122A Street, less than two kilometres away.

Investigators have urged anyone who saw the vehicle at either location, or who has dash cam or surveillance video relevant to the case, to come forward.

So far, though police believe Malik was targeted, the motive for the shooting is unclear. Lee said the senior did not have any recent involvement with police.

"We understand this is a high-profile international story, however we urge not to speculate as to the motive," Lee added. "Our homicide investigators will be following the evidence."

The killing prompted mixed reactions from the community, with many mourning Malik as the co-founder of the Khalsa School and Khalsa Credit Union. At the shooting scene, some who knew him were visibly shaken as officers swarmed the complex.

Others who continue to suspect Malik was involved in the Air India attack, which remains the worst mass murder in Canadian history, had more complicated feelings.

Dr. Bal Gupta, chair of the Air India Victims' Families Association, said he has never felt a sense of justice for the atrocity, and Malik's shooting does not change that.

"He remains a suspect in our eyes, there is no doubt about it," Gupta said. "But this type of thing should not happen in Canada."

Gupta's wife of over 20 years was among the 329 people aboard Air India Flight 182 when it exploded midair on route to Mumbai.

"I slept after putting her on the plane, and I woke up as a single father to two boys, 12 and 18 at that time. I can never forget that," he said.

Only one man – bomb-maker Inderjit Singh Reyat – was convicted in connection with the attack.

He pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2003, and was later convicted of perjury for lying repeatedly while testifying in the trial of Malik and his co-accused, Ajaib Singh Bagri, who were charged with mass murder and conspiracy. Both men were acquitted.

Prosecutors alleged Malik was seeking revenge for the Indian government's 1984 raid of the Golden Temple as it tried to flush out armed militants from Sikhism's holiest place of worship in Amritsar.

Gupta said the attack remains a stark reminder of the danger posed by extremism in all forms – a danger that he believes remains a threat in Canada.

"The extremism which has become part of Canadian society has to be controlled," he said. "I hope it doesn't lead to another Air India tragedy."

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Michele Brunoro and Regan Hasegawa