RCMP were busy Sunday investigating shootings in two Metro Vancouver communities, at least one of which police say is linked to a flare-up in the Lower Mainland gang conflict.
Richmond RCMP say they were called to a suite in the 8100 block of Lansdowne Road just before midnight, where a man in his 20s had been shot multiple times.
Paramedics rushed him to hospital, but he did not survive.
At a press conference featuring the heads of the Richmond RCMP, the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team and the provincial gang unit, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, police identified the victim as Dilraj Johal.
“The murder of Dilraj Johal is the third homicide in past four days related to the ongoing Lower Mainland gang conflict,” IHIT acting Superintendent Michelle Tansey said.
Michael LeSage, Chief Superintendent of the CFSEU, called on friends, family members and acquaintances of gang members to break the veil of silence and come forward with information.
“If you do not come forward, more people will get hurt, die and even innocent people caught in the crossfire,” he said.
“I want you all to ask are you prepared to lose someone you love?”
About an hour after the Richmond homicide, police were called to reports of shots fired in the 1400 block of Kingston Street in Coquitlam.
Officers found one man with gunshot wounds at the scene, who is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Police say multiple suspects were seen fleeing the scene in a vehicle.
READ MORE: Man with known gang ties shot dead at family home in Surrey
Police later located a vehicle on fire in the 3500 block of Gislason Avenue, which they believe to be connected to the shooting.
The shootings come just days after high-profile gangster Gary Kang was gunned down in his family’s home in South Surrey.
The overnight violence brings the tally of Metro Vancouver shootings in the last two weeks to at least six, five of which have been fatal.
Last month, 19-year-old Harman Singh Dhesi and a 14-year-old boy were gunned down one day apart on Dec. 27 and Dec. 28.
Then, on Jan. 6, Kang was killed. The following day, 29-year-old Anees Mohammed was shot dead in Steveston. Police say he also had gang ties.
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