A Strathcona County funeral home owner has been found guilty of second-degree murder in connection with a deadly 2021 shooting in Sherwood Park, Alta., that left his nephew dead and his wife injured.
Gamdur Brar had been charged with first-degree murder but was found guilty of the lesser charge of second-degree murder. He was also found not guilty on a separate charge of attempted murder, however, he was found guilty of discharging a firearm with intent to injure.
In a written ruling released Friday, Justice Stephen D. Hillier noted that while he had “no doubt” that Brar intended to kill his nephew, “the Crown has not proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused engaged in a planned and deliberate murder.”
Early in the morning on May 7, 2021, police said officers were called to a firearms incident on Baseline Road, between Highway 21 and Highcliff Road.
When emergency crews arrived, one person was found dead and another was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
The person who died was Harmanjot Singh Battal, the 19-year-old nephew of Brar and his wife. Brar’s wife, Satvir Kaur Brar, was injured in the shooting.
Hillier’s ruling details what led up to the shooting. Satvir Kaur Brar left her family home the night before, wearing just sandals and pajamas because she was bothered by her husband’s drinking.
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She eventually called Battal and asked him to pick her up and take her to the home where her sister-in-law lived. She told her sons that she was there and that she was safe but that she did not want her husband to know.
On the morning of the shooting, Gamdur Brar called RCMP around 3:30am to report his wife missing when he noticed his wife was not at home. The RCMP searched for her and eventually found out where she was. Satvir Kaur Brar reportedly did not express concern for her safety when contacted by RCMP.
Later that morning, when Satvir Kaur Brar found out police were at her home, she panicked and left with her nephew in his car.
She was driving Battal’s car with Battal in the passenger seat when she spotted her husband’s car and drove through a red light in an attempt to get away.
That car followed the car Satvir Kaur Brar and Battal were in.
Hillier’s ruling concludes Gamdur Brar pulled up to his nephew’s car and fired four shots into it, before one vehicle then collided with the other.
All three got out of the vehicles and a foot chase ensued. The judge said the evidence showed Gamdur Brar shot Battal twice in the head before he turned the gun and pointed it at his wife’s head. She said, “I’m sorry,” and he turned and walked away.
In the hospital, speaking to police as she awaited surgery for her own gunshot wounds that day, Satvir Kaur Brar’s anguish was evident: “He came to Canada for his bright future … What I’m going to say to his parents now? My husband kill him?”
On Friday, as part of his decision, Hillier noted that “when Satvir first entered the court room to testify, she disclosed palpable reluctance to come forward and be present with the accused. Her piercing and angry looks at the accused portrayed such anguish that I felt obliged to assure her she did not have to look at him.”
Hillier explained in his ruling why he did not find Gamdur Brar guilty of attempted murder for shooting his wife, who was later taken to hospital.
“The shots fired into the Mitsubishi were reckless and predictably inured both occupants,” the judge wrote. “However, the evidence does not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that that accused intended to kill … (his wife and nephew) when he fired into the vehicle.”
Gamdur Brar is scheduled to attend a sentencing hearing on Nov. 10, at which time victim impact statements are to be read.
–With files from Sarah Ryan, Global News
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