Concerns of retaliation after gangster gunned down outside wedding
A well-known gangster was shot and killed outside a banquet hall in South Vancouver Sunday, sparking concerns his associates may seek revenge.
It happened around 1:30 a.m. at Fraser View Banquet Hall, which confirmed to CTV News it was hosting a wedding at the time.
“We know there was an event at that banquet hall. Despite this being a targeted incident, a gang-related incident, this was very concerning – any innocent bystander could’ve been in the crossfire,” Vancouver Police Department Const. Tania Visintin told CTV News.
Police did not identify the victim and have remained relatively tight-lipped on the investigation.
The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C., the provincial anti-gang agency, confirmed to CTV News the victim was 28-year-old Amarpreet Samra.
Samra had been part of public warnings in 2021 and in 2022, in which the CFSEU-BC identified specific gang members believed to be linked to recent violence and advised people they were putting themselves in danger by associating with the men.
“There is the possibility that there is somebody from a rival gang in the near vicinity who may be looking for an opportunity to take an act of violence,” CFSEU-BC Sgt. Brenda Winpenny said in May 2021.
Another man in the 2021 public warning, Meninder Dhaliwal, was shot and killed in a brazen daylight shooting in Whistler July 2022.
Rob Gordon, a criminologist at SFU, said this illustrates the accuracy of the police warnings but also their limitations.
“You can’t ostracize somebody for a long period of time – it’s impossible to do that. The only way that this fellow could’ve avoided being shot at is to leave town,” Gordon said.
In 2015, when Samra was 21 years old, he was charged with attempted murder for a shooting at Strawberry Hill Elementary.
A few years later, when he was 25, he was accused of kidnapping someone and there was a Canada-wide warrant for his arrest.
Gordon believes the public warnings are an indication Samra may have been on a hit list for some time.
“That is the function of the long-term memory of people involved in these conflicts, they don’t give up until they get to their target,” he said.
Now, there are concerns that Samra’s associates will fire back.
“We know this happens time and time again. When there is a targeted shooting of this nature in the B.C. gang conflict, we know retaliation will occur. All of this is very concerning and it definitely puts the public at risk,” Visintin said.
Anyone with information on the latest shooting is asked to contact the VPD’s homicide unit.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.