Second-degree murder charges have been laid in relation to the fatal shooting of a Pitt Meadows man in a church parking lot before Christmas.

Early in the morning on Dec. 19, witnesses reported hearing gunfire coming from the Haney Presbyterian Church, located on 216th Street just off the Lougheed Highway in Maple Ridge.

A body was found in a car in the church’s parking lot, blood splattered on the windows.

The victim was 33-year-old Peter Bender, who was not known to police. IHIT says he was killed in a “domestic related incident.”

Bender was married with two young children, according to his obituary.

An arrest warrant was issued for Randy Scott, 29, on Jan. 19. He turned himself in on Feb. 16, and IHIT has charged him with second-degree murder. 

Scott is expected to appear in the Port Coquitlam provincial court on Feb. 18.