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An 18-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder in a deadly daytime shooting on a highway south of Edmonton.
In a news release Tuesday, RCMP said Jimmy Gassner has been charged in the killing of Birinder Singh, an international student from India, who was fatally shot on March 14.
Gassner — a resident of Lloydminster — was arrested on Saturday near Canoe Lake, Sask., RCMP said.
The circumstances of the killing — Singh was a devout Amritdhari Sikh — have prompted calls for police to investigate it as a potential hate crime. RCMP declined to provide more details on a potential motive.
“Despite the laying of these charges, we know that there will be many questions regarding suspects and motivations,” Staff Sgt. John Brown of the Alberta RCMP Major Crimes Unit said in the statement.
“Please understand that our ability to answer these questions is limited while our officers continue their important work.”
Gassner is being transported to Alberta where he will remain in custody as he waits for his first court date to be set, police said. Court records show the matter will be heard in the Leduc Court of Justice.
In an interview with CBC News on Tuesday, RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Troy Savinkoff said the investigation remains active following Gassner’s arrest.
“When it comes to the question of it being hate-motivated, it still hasn’t been determined,” he said. “The motive remains unclear. We’re hoping to provide that to the public soon.”
Singh, along with two childhood friends, was driving down Highway 2 south of Edmonton when he was struck by a gunshot fired from a passing pickup truck, near Leduc, Alta., shortly before 3 p.m. MT.
Police said the grey pickup approached the Honda Civic Singh was driving. Someone in the truck opened fire, then the vehicle sped away.
Singh, who had come Canada three years ago, died of his injuries.
Calls for hate crime investigation
The World Sikh Organization of Canada, which promotes and protects the rights of Sikhs in Canada, has urged the RCMP to explore discrimination as a possible motive, saying the killing happened amid a rise in anti-Sikh hate across Canada.
A friend who was in the car and watched Singh die on the highway, also called on the RCMP to investigate the shooting as a hate crime.
The man, who spoke with CBC News on condition of confidentiality, characterized the shooting as unprovoked and said Singh was a kind, hard worker who had no conflict with anyone.
In an interview Tuesday, the man told CBC News he relieved that the RCMP investigation had resulted in an arrest.
He said he is grateful too for the messages of condolence and support he and Singh’s friends have received since details of the shooting came to light.
“I’m really thankful that the majority of the community is standing with us during these difficult times.”
He said, thanks to the generosity of the public who donated to an online fundraising campaign, Singh’s friends in Edmonton were able to fly his body back home to India.
Singh’s body was sent home on Monday, to his family in Punjab.