On Saturday, May 22, Gurkeert Kalkat, also known as Gary Kalkat, was found suffering from gunshot wounds inside a vehicle parked in the alley behind 26 Avenue S.W. in Calgary.
Kalkat was pronounced dead at the scene.
The vehicle was located in an alley behind the Seventh Step Society, which supports ex-offenders.
On Wednesday, Staff Sgt. Martin Schiavetta confirmed that Kalkat was staying at the halfway house.
According to court documents, Kalkat was convicted for drug trafficking in 2018 and sentenced to three years in federal prison.
Calgary police asked the public Wednesday for information regarding the shooting over the long weekend.
The suspects abandoned a getaway vehicle, a stolen Honda Odyssey van, in the alley of the 2200 block of 31 Avenue S.W., and according to witnesses, it was lit on fire.
It’s believed that the suspects left in a blue four-door Subaru Impreza. A witness told Calgary police that they believed one of the suspects may have burned his hands and arms during the incident. As a result, investigators have been in touch with hospitals in both Alberta and B.C.
“There is a good probability that these offenders travelled to Calgary with the sole purpose of committing this homicide,” Schiavetta said.
Earlier this month, the victim’s brother, Jaskeert Kalkat, was killed at a Cactus Club location in Burnaby, B.C., and British Columbia’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team confirmed he was affiliated with gang activity.
In recent months, gang-related violence has escalated in the province, with shootings in public areas, including the Vancouver International Airport.
At a Calgary police commission meeting Tuesday, Deputy Chief Paul Cook said that the violence is concerning but the force has been working with policing units in B.C. for years and continue to do so to try and mitigate retaliatory violence.
“What we continue to do on an almost ongoing basis is strong suppression and enforcement with known targets,” explained Cook. “We take direct action almost every day through patrol and through our investigators, through a multitude of units, to try and head off any potential retaliatory violence.”
Mount Royal justice studies professor Doug King said that while B.C. is a focal point for the violence, the gangs involved carry out operations across the country.
“The B.C. issue is largely spurred because the Brothers Keepers are a splinter group from the Red Scorpions and it was not a happy split,” King said. “So not only is there the usual gang activity of drugs and gun transport, there are personal issues being played here.”
King said he would be watching the next two weeks closely to see if the violence continued or if suspects laid low.
Calgary police asked anyone with additional information about Kalkat’s homicide to come forward.