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
Will Biden's second state of the union mark a less protectionist approach to Canada?
A new poll suggests a majority of Canadians still see the United States as their country's closest ally, even in an age of isolationism and protectionist policies.

Thieves cut huge hole in Ottawa restaurant wall to get at jewelry store next door
An Ottawa restaurateur says he was shocked to find his restaurant broken into and even more surprised to discover a giant hole in the wall that led to the neighbouring jewelry store.
New details emerge ahead of Trudeau-premiers' health-care meeting
As preparations are underway for the anticipated health-care 'working meeting' between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canada's premiers on Tuesday, new details are emerging about how the much-anticipated federal-provincial gathering will unfold.
Why wasn't the suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down over Canada?
Critics say the U.S. and Canada had ample time to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon as it drifted across North America. The alleged surveillance device initially approached North America near Alaska's Aleutian Islands on Jan 28. According to officials, it crossed into Canadian airspace on Jan. 30, travelling above the Northwest Territories, Alberta and Saskatchewan before re-entering the U.S. on Jan 31.
Mendicino: foreign-agent registry would need equity lens, could be part of 'tool box'
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says a registry to track foreign agents operating in Canada can only be implemented in lockstep with diverse communities.
Quebec minister 'surprised' asylum seekers given free bus tickets from New York City
Quebec's immigration minister says she was 'surprised' to learn the City of New York is helping to provide free bus tickets to migrants heading north to claim asylum in Canada.
Vaccine intake higher among people who knew someone who died of COVID-19: U.S. survey
A U.S. survey found that people who had a personal connection to someone who became ill or died of COVID-19 were more likely to have received at least one shot of the vaccine compared to those who didn’t have any loved ones who had been impacted by the disease.
opinion | Don Martin: Alarms going off over health-care privatization? Such an out-of-touch waste of hot political air
The chances Trudeau's health-care summit with the premiers will end with the blueprint to realistic long-term improvements are only marginally better than believing China’s balloon was simply collecting atmospheric temperatures, Don Martin writes in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, 'But it’s clearly time the 50-year-old dream of medicare as a Canadian birthright stopped being such a nightmare for so many patients.'
City of Iqaluit announces partial water shutdown; boil water advisory in effect
The City of Iqaluit says water services have been restored after an emergency partial shutdown due to issues with the piped water system.