The son of a man who was shot and killed outside his home in Abbotsford, B.C., last month told Global News he has faith in the investigation and is confident they will get closure.
Darshan Sahsi was shot and killed on Oct. 27 and the incident was captured on camera.
The video showed a waiting gunman walking up to the 68-year-old in his vehicle and firing multiple rounds at him.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) has taken over the case and while they said it appears the killing was targeted, it is not believed to be extortion-related.
“I have faith that sooner or later, somebody is going to come forward with something,” Darshan’s son, Navi Singh Sahsi, told Global News.
“That’s the only hope that we have now because it’s been, you know what, it’s coming up to a month now in about a week. So we know someone out there knows something and we just want the public to speak out and don’t be afraid. We’re behind you. The police are behind you, there’s no reason to be afraid. Please, if you know something, say something.”
Sahsi said IHIT has been in regular contact with them but they have not heard much from the Abbotsford Police Department or Mayor Ross Siemens.
Since the event, there’s been various shootings,” Sahsi said.
“There’s been other things going on on the street. And we don’t really feel safe. I don’t think any of the community feel safe, so protection is obviously the priority here.”
Abbotsford police were called to a home on Janzen Street early on Tuesday morning after bullets struck two unoccupied cars parked outside.
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“The Abbotsford Police Department can confirm that this is a targeted incident related to an ongoing extortion investigation,” the department said in a social media post.
Sahsi said they are planning another vigil for his father in Abbotsford and he hopes the mayor and members of the police department show up.
He added that they have not been offered any protection.
“Not from the police and from my understanding, I don’t know if there’s anything they can do,” he said.
“That’s what it seems like. It seems like we’re helpless and they’re helpless, and the resources are scarce. That’s pretty much our understanding of the situation right now.”
Abbotsford police told Global News on Wednesday that they are putting more eyes, more officers and more intelligence on the streets than ever before.
“We did this large mobilization of staff, the largest movement of our staff into our operation, Community Shield, which is our task force locally,” Sgt. Paul Walker said.
“That was the largest movement since the 2021 floods.”
For 24 hours a day, officers are following a constantly updated list of addresses, names and information.
“It’s a real time on boots on the ground, all hands on deck approach,” Walker said.
“So everything that front-line officers on the road see… they’re updating that information in our internal system immediately, that information can be accessed by the investigative teams in real time.”
Police said they are conducting checks at businesses and homes targeted by extortion and patrolling neighbourhoods for suspicious activity.
The department is also putting up more safety cameras.
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“The camera deployment is intelligence-led,” Walker added.
“It’s purposeful and there to help advance our investigations and to keep the neighbourhoods and community around the areas that have been affected.”
Abbotsford has logged 53 extortion-related files since November 2023, including 11 shootings and multiple arsons.
Despite wishing he was not in the spotlight for what happened, Sashi said this is what he needs to do right now for his family and his father’s legacy.
“We’re not going to just go out quiet,” he said.
“This wasn’t, I just want to keep reminding the public that. This isn’t the ’90s; this isn’t gang-on-gang violence. My dad was an innocent, hardworking person. And not just that, he had a golden heart. He did nothing but help other people. He did not deserve this.”
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