Police are investigating a targeted fatal shooting in Calgary’s Bankview neighbourhood on Saturday.
Officers responded to the 1800 block of 26 Avenue S.W. after 5:30 p.m. and found a “man suffering from gunshot wounds inside a vehicle” parked in the alley behind 26 Avenue S.W. He was later pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Shortly after the shooting, police responded to a vehicle fire in the 2200 block of 31 Avenue S.W. that officers believe is related.
“According to witnesses, multiple suspects then entered a second vehicle, a blue, four-door car, possibly a Subaru Impreza or Legacy, and fled the scene,” police said.
“Officers flooded the area, however, suspects have not yet been located.”
Sources told Global News the victim has been identified as Gurkeert Kalkat, of British Columbia, whose brother Jaskeert Kalkat, 23, was killed outside of a Burnaby Cactus Club Cafe earlier this month.
According to court documents obtained by Global News, Gurkeert was sentenced to three years in federal prison for trafficking fentanyl in 2018 as part of an undercover drug operation led by Calgary police.
Witness accounts
Jasmine Chapman lives in the area and was woken up from her nap when she heard gunshots.
“It sounded like fireworks. It was just crazy,” she said. “It was scary. I’m still shaking right now.”
Monica vonGaza also heard a loud noise and later called emergency services.
“I mostly just noticed my cats freak out from it and then realized it was gunshots. Then I heard, after the gunshots, somebody screaming, ‘Call 911!'” she said.
“I overheard from the back alley somebody yelling, ‘He’s dead!'”
It’s not out of the ordinary for police to be called to the area, vonGaza said.
“I honestly didn’t realize that there was actually a fatality because when the cops showed up, everybody was just like super calm, super business,” she said.
“I just assumed that it was like a drive-by shooting because a year ago or two years ago, there was the stabbing in the halfway house.”
‘Extremely concerning’
Police said an autopsy is scheduled for next week.
“The level of violence demonstrated in this incident is extremely concerning to us,” said Staff Sgt. Martin Schiavetta in a news release on Saturday.
“We are dedicating resources from across the service to this investigation to ensure that the individuals involved are held accountable.”
If you have information on the shooting or vehicle fire, contact police at the non-emergency line at 403-266-1234 or the homicide unit tip line at 403-428-8877 or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.