Edmonton police issue warrants for suspect in 3 shootings linked to extortion series

Canada-wide warrants have been issued for a 19-year-old man who Edmonton police believe is connected to an ongoing extortion file.

Police believe the man fled to India after allegedly being involved in three drive-by shootings linked to the extortion series.

Police are seeking Arjun Sahnan, 19. Police also said they are looking for a second suspect in one of the three shootings.

All three shootings happened in December 2023, one in Edmonton, one in Sherwood Park and one in Winnipeg. They are part of “Project Gaslight,” an Edmonton police investigation into 34 events in an ongoing extortion series targeting the South Asian community in the Edmonton region since October.

The first drive-by shooting happened at 2:50 a.m. on Dec. 21, 2023, in Edmonton’s Cy Becker neighbourhood. Police said shots were fired at an upstairs window of a home. Police said six people, including two children, were in the home at the time.

“The shots were fired directly at a bedroom window where the homeowners were sleeping. It was a miracle no one was struck,” said Staff Sgt. Eric Stewart, with the EPS guns and gangs section.

The second shooting happened at 8:45 p.m. on Dec. 24, 2023, at a home in northwest Winnipeg. One bullet went into a bedroom, just missing a person inside the room, police said.

The bullet continued through another wall and into an adjacent room that was empty. Police said several people were home at the time of the shooting, which was caught on security cameras in the area.

“We believe the complainant in that has connections to Edmonton and this extortion/arson series,” Stewart said of the Winnipeg shooting.

“We believe they have connections to one of the homebuilders here in Edmonton.”

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The suspect vehicle in the Winnipeg shooting is a black SUV with no front licence plate, which is mandatory in Manitoba.

Police are also asking the public for any information about a second suspect linked to the Winnipeg shooting. Surveillance photos of the man were released by police on Tuesday.

Police said in the Edmonton and Winnipeg shootings, the homeowner was extorted for money and threatened prior to the shooting. No one was injured in either shooting, according to police.

The third shooting happened just after 1 a.m. on Dec. 29, 2023, in the Fountain Creek neighbourhood of Sherwood Park, east of Edmonton. One bullet went through a window and into a children’s playroom, striking a toybox. No one was injured.

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Police said the suspect was caught on security cameras in the area. In this case, police said the homeowner was not threatened before the shooting. Officers believe the shooter accidentally targeted the wrong house.

“These individuals sometimes don’t do a very good job of planning out some of these events and in this case we believe they just got the wrong house,” Stewart said.

Police said the same gun was used in all three shootings.

1:57 Several videos released of suspects in extortion of Edmonton’s South Asian community

Canada-wide warrants have been issued for Arjun Sahnan, 19.

Sahnan was previously arrested on five firearm-related charges during a Dec. 30, 2023 vehicle stop. Stewart said Sahnan was charged and released on bail.

“If he didn’t have a history, then it becomes harder and harder to hold him on bail until the trial does start,” explained Dan Jones, chair of justice studies at Norquest College.

“If they’re releasing a person on bail and they have international connections and they think there’s a potential that they may leave the country, the courts can actually have them surrender passport documentation.”

The Edmonton Police Service’s firearms investigations unit has determined Sahnan has since fled to India.

“We have early on spoke to the parents, they did indicate that he had left,” Stewart said. “But we had other information to suggest that he fled our country. We deal with our CBSA investigators and other international units and people to help us with that.”

Sahnan left on a flight that he booked prior to the shootings in Winnipeg and Sherwood Park, police allege.

“He’s taken off and now it’s up to the police to look at extradition from wherever this person may be,” Jones explained. “Finding them, first and foremost, then looking at if they’re in a country that has an extradition treaty with Canada.

“People can go and they can disappear relatively easily in another province. It’s even (more) magnified when they disappear to another country,” Jones said.

“Our firearms investigation unit is a sophisticated team with the resources to investigate these complex files, regardless of where the offences take place,” said Stewart.

“Committing gun crime in other provinces and fleeing the country will not prevent us from charging a suspect and holding them accountable.”

Stewart said while police believe Sahnan is in India, the warrants were issued in case he returns to Canada.

“We’re not sure where this individual — if he does come back to into Canada — where he will land or end up,” he explained. “It’s not uncommon for individuals not to come back to the jurisdiction they commit their offences in. It is common for individuals to find a different place of hiding in Canada.

“If he does decide to come back and land at an airport, we will be able to execute those warrants.”

Stewart said police are encouraging Sahnan to return to Canada and face his charges.

“Regardless of whether he complies, we know who he is and fleeing to another country will not stop us from attempting to locate him,” he said.

“If he chooses not to, we will work with our international partners to try to locate him.”

Additionally, police said Tuesday that search warrants were executed on April 24, 2024, in connection with a drive-by shooting in the Cy Becker neighbourhood on Jan. 10, 2024. One person was arrested, but police did not release further information about the suspect. Police said officers are still working to locate the gun used in this shooting.

Investigators have previously said these extortion incidents are being orchestrated by someone in India.

“There is an individual orchestrating and directing young men in our city to carry out these acts,” Stewart reiterated Tuesday. “In my opinion, they’re being exploited to carry out these acts and someone who is not in this country is benefiting from that.

“The message is pretty clear: if you’re going to commit one of these offences and you’re going to work for this individual, understand the consequences that follow.”

Anyone with information on the suspect or the shootings can contact Edmonton police at 780-391-4279 or via projectgaslight@edmontonpolice.ca. Anonymous information can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or p3tips.com.