TORONTO: A 56-year-old prominent Sikh real estate developer has been shot dead in broad daylight in Canada's Richmond city in what authorities are describing as a "brazen" target killing.
Amarjit Singh Sandhu was shot in the parking lot of a shopping centre in Richmond, British Columbia, as shoppers and restaurant diners witnessed the shooting.
Sandhu died in hospital after Saturday's broad daylight shooting that left his truck riddled with bullets. Royal Canadian Mounted Police were called following reports that a man had been shot at the parking lot.
Police found the man suffering from gunshot wounds and reported several bullet holes in the driver's side door of the black pickup truck. No one else was injured in the incident. It was a targeted attack, police said in a statement. "The act of homicide is one that is selfish and cold," Staff Sergeant Jennifer Pound of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) was quoted as saying by CBC News.
Police released a vague description of a man wanted in connection with the murder of Sandhu. The suspect is described as a non-white male in his early to mid 20s.
Sandhu was listed as president of Sandhill Developments Ltd. He and the company are named in more than 80 civil lawsuits in British Columbia dating back to the 1990s. In a recent case, Sandhu took the Khalsa Diwan Society to court. His actions led to an election being called for leaders at the Ross Street gurdwara in Vancouver, scheduled for September.
An official with the party opposed to changes Sandhu was seeking at the temple believes the shooting was unrelated. "To my knowledge just for the sake of an election nobody would take such a big risk," Ranjit Hayer of the Khalsa Diwan Society was quoted as saying. People at the gurdwara registering to vote in the election said Sandhu was at the gurdwara before he went to Richmond and was gunned down. A male witness was quoted by Richmond News as saying that Sandhu was killed while standing next to his black truck.
The suspect pulled out a gun with a silencer attachment and shot Sandhu. The witness said he heard at least six shots that sounded like a paintball gun.