VANCOUVER -- Dilraj Johal, a man in his 20s, has died after he was shot multiple times in a condo in Richmond. Police say the killing was gang related.
Around 11:50 p.m. on Saturday Richmond RCMP officers, along with paramedics, responded to a call at a home in the 8100 block of Lansdowne Road.
Inside the condominium suite they found the body of Johal.
“He was known to police and we believe this was a targeted incident,” said Sgt. Frank Jang of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team during a news conference Sunday afternoon.
The Richmond RCMP’s Serious Crime Unit and IHIT attended the scene.
Investigators don’t yet know which gangs Johal was affiliated with, Jang said.
“These are reckless young people,” he said.
Insp. Michelle Tansey, the acting officer in charge of IHIT, said the incident is tied to gang activity and that there is “good momentum” on the investigation.
“The latest murder of Dilraj Johal is the third homicide in the past four days related to the ongoing Lower Mainland gang conflict,” she said.
“It is no secret that IHIT has had an eventful past two weeks and our investigators are working long hours,” Tansey said.
Assistant Comm. Michael LeSage of the the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C., the province’s anti-gang agency, said he’s concerned this spat of violence will continue. He urged people involved in gangs to get help and seek an end to their participation.
“Losing young men and women in our community is a tragedy and needs to stop,” he said.
