Victim of shooting at Vancouver luxury hotel identified; vehicle fire also under investigation
The victim of a shooting at an upscale hotel near Vancouver's waterfront has been identified.
Vancouver police said the man found unresponsive in the Fairmont Pacific Rim's parkade was 35-year-old Amandeep Manj. He was found by hotel staff on level three of the parkade around 3:30 p.m. and pronounced dead at the scene.
A huge police presence formed around the hotel after the victim was discovered, and the hotel's parkade was cordoned off with police tape.
At about 10 p.m. two cars were towed out of the parkade, a silver Buick and red Mustang, both with visible bullet holes. Police sources told CTV News Manj was found inside the Mustang while the Buick was unrelated, and described as “collateral damage.”
Manj was known to police. In 2009, someone with the same name was one of two men charged with a number of weapons offences as part of a crackdown on gang violence in Vancouver.
However, on Thursday, Const. Tania Visintin stopped short of connecting Manj’s murder with the ongoing Lower Mainland gang conflict.
“Yes, there is a history with him, with this lifestyle but to say if he’s an active member right now, what is going on, that is something we are looking into,” Const. Visintin said. “This whole picture paints the scene of a hallmark, target gang-style shooting so it fits that umbrella.”
Visintin said police are now concerned about a possible retaliation attack.
“When a shooting of this nature does occur it always does pose a risk of retaliation and that’s where the public safety does come into risk, as there could always be innocent bystanders,” she said.
Police are also investigating if an arson in East Vancouver is connected to Wednesday’s shooting.
Early Thursday morning, two residential streets were behind police tape after a burned vehicle was found overnight.
Witnesses say when crews arrived at the intersection of Penticton and Charles streets, a truck was engulfed in flames.
“Investigators are working to determine if there is a connection with that arson and the murder from last night," Visintin said.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 604-717-2500. Tips can also be left anonymously with Crime Stoppers.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
'Ninja,' Twitch's biggest streamer, is diagnosed with skin cancer
American gamer and Twitch superstar, Tyler 'Ninja' Blevins, revealed he was diagnosed with melanoma, a form of skin cancer.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Here's what Trudeau says the upcoming federal budget will offer renters
The federal government will create a new 'Canadian Renters' Bill of Rights,' which would require landlords to disclose their properties' rental price history to prospective tenants.