Mounties are still searching for a suspect and a motive in a shooting on a Highway 2, south of Edmonton, earlier this month that left a man dead.
Alberta RCMP said the shooting happened south of Leduc, near Township Road 490, on the afternoon of Saturday, March 14.
Three friends were headed to the mountains via the QEII that Saturday afternoon when a pickup truck pulled up beside their Honda Civic.
According to the two survivors of the shooting, a person in the truck made a hand gesture toward them, something resembling a peace sign.
They said their friend and the car’s driver, 22-year-old Birinder Singh, waved back.
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Passengers recount harrowing QEII drive-by shooting that killed their friend
Moments later, someone in the truck opened fire and a bullet struck Singh in the neck. The friends took control of the steering wheel and pulled the car over to the side of the highway. Singh died in the vehicle from blood loss.
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Witnesses said the truck then speed off.
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“We are looking at multiple possibilities, but the ultimate motive of this very tragic incident is still unknown,” RCMP spokesman Cpl. Troy Savinkoff said in an email Monday.
“Regardless of the motivation, this was a heinous act of violence perpetrated on an innocent victim.”
According to the friends, Singh moved from India to Brampton, Ont., three years ago as an international student and studied business administration before relocating to Edmonton in October.
Since then, Singh had been working in construction, installing siding.
He was on his way to see the Canadian Rockies for the first time when he was killed.
Jaskaran Sandhu, president of the Alberta chapter of the World Sikh Organization, said he understands the matter is still under investigation and Mounties have told his organization that hate is being considered as a motivating factor.
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Sandhu said everyone in the car was wearing a turban.
“We don’t want RCMP to ignore the potential or the possibility of this being a hate-motivated crime. And in conversations we’ve had with RCMP, we have been assured that it has not been ruled out … that is very much one of the motives that they’re investigating alongside others.”
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Savinkoff said investigators located the truck, a Grey 2022 Ford F-150, last week but the suspect remains at large as police continue to determine what led to the shooting.
Savinkoff said “uncovering the motivation for a homicide is part of our investigative process.”
“Should racism or hate be discovered as a contributing factor in this shooting, the Alberta RCMP Hate Crimes Co-ordinator will be engaged to help supplement our investigative resources.”
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Man killed in drive-by shooting on QEII near Leduc, RCMP searching for suspect truck
— With files from Karen Bartko, Global News
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