Straight Talk

Recent shootings in Nanaimo and Calgary suggest Metro Vancouver gang conflict has spread to other cities

Three suspects are in custody in Nanaimo for a daylight targeted hit near a Wendy's restaurant on May 20

by Charlie Smith on May 23rd, 2021 at 7:09 AM
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      An ongoing gang battle has taken several lives in the Lower Mainland.

      But now there are signs that the Metro Vancouver gang conflict has spread to two other cities.

      This weekend, Nanaimo RCMP took three suspects into custody in connection with a May 20 shooting around 3:30 p.m. It left one man dead in a parked vehicle near a Wendy's restaurant on Highway 19A.

      All three of those who were arrested have ties to Metro Vancouver.

      "We believe this event has a nexus to the ongoing gang-conflict and violence currently plaguing a number of Lower Mainland communities," Acting Insp. Donovan Tait of the Nanaimo RCMP said in a news release.

      On Saturday (May 22) at 5:30 p.m. in Calgary, a man was shot dead in a vehicle in the 1800 block of 26th Avenue Southwest. The suspects are believed to have escaped in a blue four-door car.

      Vancouver Sun journalist Kim Bolan has reported that the man shot in Calgary, Gurkeert Kalkat, is the brother of Jaskeert Kalkat, who was shot dead in a South Burnaby shopping mall on May 12. Citing unnamed sources, Bolan also reported that the victim in the Nanaimo shooting was Yasin Khan, whom she  wrote was linked to the Red Scorpions-Kang crime group.

      Shooting timeline

      April 17: The VPD stated on April 24 that 51-year-old Francois Joseph Gauthier was arrested and charged for the fatal shooting of 31-year-old Harpreet Singh Dhaliwal outside Cardero’s restaurant in Coal Harbour on April 17.

      April 19: 20-year-old Bailey McKinney was fatally shot in Town Centre Park in Coquitlam.

      April 21: 46-year-old Todd Gouwenberg of Langley was fatally shot outside the Langley Sportsplex.

      May 1: 29-year-old B.C. corrections officer Bikramdeep Randhawa died from a shooting at Scottsdale Centre in North Delta.

      May 3: In Langley, a man shot outside Willowbrook shopping centre was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries but is expected to survive.

      May 4: In Surrey, 20-year-old Keryane Arsenault was shot in Guildford. Arsenault died from her injuries. A 24-year-old, Ali Khudhair, was charged on May 5.

      May 8: In South Burnaby, 19-year-old Blerton (Toni) Dalipi died in hospital after being shot. A 20-year-old, Ahmed Riyaz Tahir, was charged on May 9.

      May 9: At the Vancouver International Airport, 28-year-old United Nations gang member Karman Grewal was shot and killed.

      May 13: In Burnaby, 23-year-old Jaskeert Kalkat died and two other people were injured in a shooting near the Cactus Club restaurant at Market Crossing mall.

      May 20: Yasin Khan, who reportedly has ties to the Red Scorpions-Kang crime group, is shot dead at 3:30 p.m. near a Wendy's restaurant in Rock City Centre in Nanaimo. On May 22, Nanaimo RCMP take three men with ties to Metro Vancouver into custody.

      May 22: Gurkeert Kalkat, the brother of Jaskeert Kalkat, is reportedly shot dead in the 1800 block of 26 Avenue S.W. in Calgary around 5:30 p.m. Mountain time. The suspects allegedly fled in a blue four-door car.

      May 22: A man is gunned down around 5:30 p.m. near the intersection of Hart Street and Henderson Avenue in the Maillardville area of Coquitlam.

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