Suspect vehicle identified, additional witnesses sought in Richmond gang slaying

Homicide investigators have released photos of a suspect vehicle they say is linked to a fatal, gang-related shooting in Richmond last week.

On Tuesday, the Integrated Homicide Investigation team provided an update on the investigation into the slaying of Ravinder Samra, who was gunned down on July 27 in a residential area in broad daylight.

"Extensive video canvassing" has led it to determine a black 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe was parked near the scene in the hours leading up to the shooting "with the suspects inside," the statement from IHIT says. 

The vehicle was parked on the west side of the 8100 block of Milner Road, according to police.

“Investigators have learned that multiple pedestrians were walking on Minler Road in the time leading up to the homicide,” IHIT spokesperson Sgt. Timothy Pierotti writes, urging anyone with information to contact police immediately.

The update from IHIT also notes that police and firefighters were called to respond to reports of a vehicle "engulfed in flames" shortly after the shooting. Pierotti confirmed to CTV News that it was this suspect vehicle that was set ablaze.

Brothers Ravinder and Amarpreet Samra were previously named in public warnings from the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C., which alleged both were gang members who posed a threat to public safety in the Lower Mainland.

In one such warning from 2021, the CFSEU-BC cautioned that anyone who associates with the brothers "may be putting themselves at risk."

Amarpreet Samra was shot and killed outside a banquet hall in Vancouver back in May.

Anyone with information on the case who has not yet spoken to police is asked to call 1-877-551-IHIT (4448).

IHIT has identified what is described as a suspect vehicle in a homicide in Richmond on July 27, 2023. (Photo courtesy of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team)