It’s a concerning, sometimes violent, trend in cities across Canada, including Calgary: extortion cases that have been targeting South Asian business owners.
They’ve become increasingly common, including a shooting at a house in Redstone, in northeast Calgary, in late January.
“It’s kind of scary, like random people is just coming to shoot somebody’s house,” said Antonette Gamara, who has lived in Redstone for almost 11 years.
“I think the Calgary police is doing their best. They’re trying their best to investigate. But of course, we want more safety measures for everyone — and we have peace of mind.”
“It would be great if like there was a police station here making sure, like hey. we’re here to protect you guys and like nothing like that can happen again,” said Emmanuel Barake, who lives near the house where the shooting took place.
“We want this area or community to be secure,” added Jose Valdez, another neighbour who agreed there needs to be more police officers in the area.
Thursday night, area residents will get a chance to talk to police about their concerns at a town hall.
Calgary police said, since July 2025, there have been 12 reported cases of extortion, with nine of them involving a shooting at a home, vehicle or business.
Police said those being targeted are being contacted over social media or WhatsApp, with the extortionists demanding large sums of money and threatening violence if they don’t receive it.
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Extortion of South Asian business owners is an issue that has cropped up in Edmonton and Vancouver in recent years as well.
On Thursday evening, Calgary community members will be given a chance to discuss their concerns at a town hall attended by members of the Calgary Police Service, Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams and Calgary Crime Stoppers.
Coun. Raj Dhaliwal, who represents the community on city council, told Global News he hopes the event leads to some action being taken, not just talk.
“Talk is cheap. Residents are saying, ‘Okay, well, you know what? We don’t feel safe going outside. We get these calls, we get our houses shot at. What is happening? Who’s doing what?’ And that’s why I’m glad CPS is doing this today,” said Dhaliwal.
“So hopefully they’ll be able to get some answers out to these residents. But as a councillor, but also as a resident, also as community member, I want answers, too.
“I’m not going to sit idle till there is a concrete, robust plan in place that is properly dealing with this issue.”
Calgary Police will be travelling to an interprovincial meeting in B.C. next week to discuss the issue that is hitting cities across Canada.
In the meantime, Deputy Chief Asif Rashid said CPS is committed to sharing information with the community.
“We believe strongly that the community has a lot of information, but often their is a hesitation or reticence to report because of fear of reprisal, stigma or taboo in working with the police,” Rashid added.
The town hall is scheduled to take place from 5:30 until 7:30 p.m. at the Dashmesh Cultural Centre in Martindale.
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