One of the key members of the Red Scorpions gang was shot dead in what’s believed to be a targeted shooting in Kamloops Thursday night.
Thirty-four-year-old Konaam Shirzad was identified in the fatal shooting. Another man, who suffered from a gunshot wound, remains in hospital.
WATCH: Shooting in Kamloops
Sgt. Brenda Winpenny with the B.C. anti-gang unit said Shirzad’s involvement in the Red Scorpions goes back roughly 17 years.
She said Shirzad’s involvement in gang activity is well-documented.
He had a criminal record dating back as far as 2003 and was facing firearms charges in Richmond as recently as this year.
Winpenny said in targeted gang shootings such as this, there often is retaliation and retribution that follows.
“These people are the ones who control whether they choose to retaliate and put themselves, their families, and public at risk. They’re the ones who make the choice to retaliate and when to control whether the cycle of violence stops.”
The Red Scorpions were involved in the infamous Surrey Six murders, where six people died in a Surrey high-rise back in 2007.
Kamlooops RCMP Cpl. Jodi Shelkie told CHNL the shooting took place in the Hudson’s Bay Trail.
“Shortly after the shooting last night, a vehicle was reported burning on Odin Court off of Whiteshield Crescent, and at this time we don’t know if this vehicle and the shooting on Hudson’s Bay Trail are related,” Shelkie said.
Two people reportedly fled the scene and about five kilometres away police found a vehicle on fire.
Those two people have not been found but it’s believed they are known to police.