Coal Harbour homicide victim identified as Harpreet Singh Dhaliwal

Police say unseasonably warm weather contributed to a very busy weekend, particularly in the downtown peninsula

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      A brazen shooting in Vancouver this weekend took the life of a 39-year-old Abbotsford man.

      This morning, Vancouver police identified the victim of the Coal Harbour homicide as Harpreet Singh Dhaliwal.

      It occurred on the evening of April 17 outside Cardero's Restaurant.

      Police were called just after 8:30 p.m. to the area, which is close to the Westin Bayshore.

      “We continue to believe this incident was a targeted killing and that Dhaliwal was the intended victim,” Sgt. Steve Addison said in a VPD news release. “While we don’t think there is an immediate risk to the public, it is always shocking and unnerving when gun violence takes place in such a busy, public place."

      Dhaliwal is the fifth homicide victim of the year in Vancouver.

      Afterward, police tried to stop a vehicle near the scene that was associated with a gang member.

      "The driver failed to stop and instead sped away, crashing the vehicle into the number of poles in Coal Harbour," the VPD revealed. "Three people fled the crashed car and ran toward the seawall. More than a dozen police officers searched for the suspects, who remain outstanding. The investigation is ongoing, and charges are anticipated."

      A very busy weekend

      The VPD also stated this morning that officers were called to "dozens of downtown emergencies over the weekend, as unseasonably warm weather drew tens of thousands to city streets and public parks".

      Addison said that it was "particularly challenging" in the downtown core and the West End.

      In addition to the homicide in the Coal Harbour neighbourhood, there were eight separate protests as well as a dance party at English Bay.

      Other incidents included preventing a suicide on one of the bridges, breaking up a fight between a recently called lawyer and his friends, a stranger entering a woman's hotel room and berating her, a five-vehicle crash on Oak Street, and a stabbing victim collapsing near West Hastings and Broughton Street about 10 minutes after the Coal Harbour homicide.

      That's not all—there was also a collision between a man riding an electric scooter and a coyote on the Stanley Park seawall. As he was on the ground writhing in pain, two coyotes tugged at his jacket. He responded by punching one of them before getting a passerby to call 9-1-1.

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