The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team has identified the victim in a fatal shooting outside a Surrey mall on Sunday night.
IHIT says 29-year-old Riyad Rasheed was shot and killed outside the Evergreen Mall at 152 St. and Fraser Hwy.
Investigators say he is known to police and they believe the shooting is linked to the ongoing Lower Mainland gang conflict.
Surrey RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Elenore Sturko called the shooting deeply disturbing.
“This was an active shopping location when the shooting took place, which is what makes this shooting egregious because we have a person who’s been killed by gunfire in the City of Surrey but also this was a risk to the public as it unfolded,” she said.
Surrey RCMP initially responded to reports of shots fired in the parking lot of the bustling shopping complex around 7:40 p.m.
Paramedics attended to a critically injured man, who died at the scene.
The victim’s body could be seen covered with a yellow tarp on the sidewalk in front of a clinic adjoining a Shoppers Drug Mart.
The window of the drugstore could be seen riddled with bullet holes.
Later in the evening, a car believed to be the suspect vehicle was found on fire in Richmond near Cambie and No. 7 Road.
Police are seeking the public’s assistance and are asking anyone who may have witnessed this incident or have video surveillance or dash-cam video to call the IHIT information line at 1-877-551-IHIT (4448) or email at ihitinfo@rcmp-grc.gc.ca. Should you wish to remain anonymous, please contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or http://www.solvecrime.ca.
— With files from Robyn Crawford