An 11-year-old Indo-Canadian boy was intentionally shot and killed along with his father in the town of Edmonton in Alberta, in what is believed to be the result of gang conflict spreading beyond the lower mainland of British Columbia to the neighbouring province.
The boy, who has not been named pending autopsy, was the son of 41-year-old Harpreet Singh Uppal, who Canadian media has linked to gang activity.
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On Thursday, at around noon, Edmonton Police Service (EPS) officers responded to a call of a shooting outside a business. At the scene, they found the boy and his father in medical distress and they subsequently succumbed to the injuries sustained.
Alberta’s Premier Danielle Smith expressed her grief over the tragedy involving the young victim, as she tweeted, “With a heavy heart, I contemplate how it’s conceivable for a child to be killed in such a tragic manner like this. Like many of you, I am concerned with the rise in gun violence in our neighbourhoods.”
EPS’ Homicide Section is investigating the murders, and detectives have determined “this was a targeted event.”
At a press conference on Friday, EPS acting Superintendent Colin Derksen described the killing of the boy as “sick and twisted.” He said that “once the shooter or the shooters learned that the son was there, they intentionally shot and killed him.”
This wasn’t the first time Uppal had been targeted. He and his family has escaped a previous attempt at a pizzeria in the city.
“Mr Uppal was very well known to us, very high up in the gang drug world,” Derksen said. A young friend of the boy, who was in Uppal’s car, was found unharmed.
In a release on Thursday, Staff Sergeant Rob Bilawey of the EPS Homicide Section, said, “The loss or injury of children as a result of gunfire is unfathomable and we urge anyone with information that may assist this investigation to come forward as soon as possible.”
Uppal had been known to the police since 2012, and he was scheduled to appear in May in a court on charges relating to possession of drugs and body armour.
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Vikram Sharma is a globe-trotting journalist with a global perspective on international events. His articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing insights into the world’s most pressing challenges.
