The World Sikh Organization of Canada say the shooting death of international student and former Brampton resident Birinder Singh (pictured) could have been a mate-motivated attack. (Photo: Retrieved from Facebook)

Mounties have charged an 18-year-old man from Alberta with the second-degree murder of international student and former Brampton resident Birinder Singh – a death the World Sikh Organization of Canada says could have been hate-motivated.

The Alberta RCMP says Singh was shot and killed on March 14.

The 22-year-old international student had recently moved to the province from Brampton, and was reportedly on a birthday road trip with friends heading to see Banff for the first time.

That’s when police say a grey Ford F-150 pulled alongside Singh’s vehicle, and someone inside the truck opened fire.

Singh was struck in the neck, and died in his friends’ arms, according to reports.

The grey 2022 Ford F-150 has since been recovered, and police said on Tuesday that an 18-year-old male suspect was arrested in an area around 450 kilometres north of Saskatoon.

The RCMP says Jimmy Gassner, 18, of Lloydminster, Alta., has been charged with second-degree murder. The accused will be transported to Alberta to make a court appearance at a later date.

The WSO says Singh “was beginning to establish his life in Canada,” and called his death “a sudden, unprovoked act of extreme violence.”

WSO President Danish Singh said the shooting may have been hate-motivated, and that police must “examine whether Birinder Singh was targeted because of his Sikh identity.”

Sikh and South Asian Canadians across the country have been the target of extortion in recent years, some leading to violence and shootings.

Danish said Sikhs are being “repeatedly targeted and demonized,” including by white nationalist groups promoting anti-immigrant hate, and by “coordinated disinformation campaigns” originating from India “that seek to vilify and dehumanize Sikhs in Canada.”

Police have not commented on a suspected motive in the shooting.


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