RICHMOND -- A targeted shooting at a Richmond restaurant Friday night left a man in his 40s dead and a suspected money launderer injured.
Richmond RCMP initially said two men were in hospital after the incident, but the Lower Mainland Integrated Homicide Investigation Team confirmed on Twitter that one of the victims had succumbed to his injuries.
Police have not identified the man who died, but CTV News Vancouver has confirmed the surviving victim is Paul King Jin, the man at the centre of a civil forfeiture case brought by the province.
BC’s Civil Forfeiture Office filed suit against Jin in March of 2019, accusing him of using the proceeds of crime to buy a Richmond building that houses a mixed martial arts gym called World Champion Club.
Officers were called to the shooting scene in the 9000-block of Capstan Way just after 7:30 p.m., near a Japanese restaurant called Manzo Ikamae.
The shooting incident comes a day after RCMP said that gunshots were exchanged at a Richmond gas station.
Cpl. Ian Henderson said investigators believe it was a targeted shooting, however, he didn't elaborate.
CTV News attended the scene of the shooting and saw bullet holes through the restaurant’s windows.
Witnesses reported seeing a high end car in the parking lot before the shooting, but it’s unclear whether that has any connection to the crime.
But some witnesses say the RCMP has told them to stay quiet. After the shooting, RCMP rounded up witnesses in the area, loaded them onto a bus and a police cruiser, and then released them. After, when CTV News asked those people about what they’d seen, they said they weren’t allowed to share their story.
On Friday evening, police were asking the public to avoid the area of Capstan Way as the investigation continues.
The eatery, Manzo, was also the site of a shooting back in 2012 that left a man injured after he was shot in the leg. According to police, that was also a targeted incident.
Friday’s incident came the day after another shooting incident in the city. Richmond RCMP say that around 11:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 17, occupants of two cars exchanged gun shots at a gas station near the intersection of No. 3 Rd. and Blundell Rd.
“The occupants of two vehicles, one black and one white, reportedly exchanged gunfire before departing the location at a high … speed,” reads an RCMP statement.
The Thursday shooting “appears to be a targeted incident,” it continues, adding no bystanders were believed injured.
For Friday’s shooting, there was no immediate word on the condition of the two men who were injured, and no suspect information was released.
IHIT is now investigating and is asking anyone with information about the incident to contact them.
With files from The Canadian Press.
