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Birinder Singh, who was killed in a highway shooting, dreamed of travelling the world and owning a construction company. (Supplied)<\/p>\nThe two friends who were in the car with Birinder Singh when he was shot dead on the highway south of Edmonton are wondering if discrimination was behind what they are describing it as a completely random act of violence.<\/p>\n
Singh, 22, was driving on Highway 2 with his friends on Saturday afternoon when police say someone inside a dirty white or grey pickup truck pulled up beside them and fired a gun. Singh was struck \u2013 his friends say in the neck \u2013 and he died of his injuries.<\/p>\n
Those childhood friends, who CityNews has agreed not to identify as they fear for their safety, say this was not a case of road rage and there was no reason for the occupants of the pickup truck to fire a gun.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy they are shooting us? Because we did nothing,\u201d one of the friends said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t even try to overtake them. We weren\u2019t doing any race, we didn\u2019t do anything. We were just enjoying our own company.<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody knows. Even though we can think (it\u2019s) due to brown skin, if we can say, because on our perspective, this is the only reason, only possibility.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not road rage, nothing like that. Still, we got shot. So we can say that it\u2019s a discrimination, kind of.\u201d<\/p>\n
The men\u2019s account of the shooting is harrowing, describing it as entirely unprovoked.<\/p>\n
They say Singh was driving in the left lane of the two-lane highway when the pickup truck pulled up next to them and two men gave them what appeared to be a peace sign with their hands. Thinking nothing of it, they say Singh flashed the sign back.<\/p>\n
They say the pickup then slowed down before accelerating to once again come side by side with Singh.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey put his driver\u2019s side window down, and the person who is sitting on the passenger, he took his gun and he gave us a shot,\u201d one of the friends recounted, saying the shot frightened them. The pickup truck then sped off.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked Birinder to slow down. I said, \u2018Birinder, please slow down. We don\u2019t know why they are shooting.\u2019 So as soon as I say this, Birinder was unable to\u2026 he just hand signed to him like this and this on his neck that he got a shot.\u201d<\/p>\n
They say Singh then fell unconscious at the wheel of a vehicle going 100 kilometres per hour, and the friend in the front seat managed to take Singh\u2019s leg off the accelerator.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen the vehicle slowed down. So after that, I opened my door, I ran along the car for like two to five seconds, then I opened Birinder\u2019s door and pressed the brake. So this is how we stopped the car.\u201d<\/p>\n
The friends say first responders tried saving Singh\u2019s life but were unsuccessful. \u201cWe tried very hard to save him, but unfortunately we can\u2019t, as there\u2019s a lot of blood loss.\u201d<\/p>\n
Birinder Singh, who was killed in a highway shooting, dreamed of travelling the world and owning a construction company. (Supplied)<\/p>\n
Their detailed account to CityNews expands on the little information police have been able to provide about the shooting so far. The RCMP\u2019s major crimes unit is handling the investigation and investigators are trying to determine a motive.<\/p>\n
RCMP have put out a callout for dash camera footage of the incident, with the friends saying the highway was extremely busy when the shooting happened.<\/p>\n
According to them, investigators already have in their possession the dash cam footage from Singh\u2019s own car \u2013 a 2025 Honda Civic.<\/p>\n
\u201cPolice got the footage, but still they are not updating us. They say it\u2019s a security concern, so they can\u2019t tell us what\u2019s going on,\u201d said one of the friends, who urged any drivers who were on the highway to come forward with video and information.<\/p>\n
\u2018A really sweet guy\u2019: Remembering Birinder Singh<\/p>\n
Birinder Singh was soft-spoken, religious, and didn\u2019t like to fight, according to the two friends who knew him from childhood, watched him grow up, changed countries with him, and ultimately were there in his final moments.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a really sweet guy,\u201d his friend said.<\/p>\n
He was adventurous, a foodie, and dreamed of travelling the world. His friends are planning a skydiving trip to honour him.<\/p>\n
Singh went to school for business management and dreamed of owning his own construction company one day. That\u2019s the dream that brought him to Canada in the first place \u2013 from India\u2019s Punjab region \u2013 around three years ago.<\/p>\n
The Canadian chapter of his life began in Brampton, Ont. It was his friends who convinced him to move to Edmonton \u201cto fulfil his dreams\u201d \u2014 five months ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why he chose to be here with us, because we have been here from last two years. So he came. We discussed. Firstly he agreed to us that he will come to us and do some skill work, so it will be helpful for him in the future to start his own company so he can fulfil his and his parents\u2019 dream.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Birinder Singh, 22, has been identified as the man killed in a shooting on Highway 2 on Saturday afternoon, south of Edmonton. (Supplied)<\/p>\n
His parents in India are grieving the death of their only son, who they had not seen since he left for Canada three years ago, his friends tell CityNews. He was the \u201conly hope of his parents,\u201d they say, and was planning to visit them in December.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey know us from very long time, our families know each other, so that\u2019s why it\u2019s our responsibility to tell them what exactly happened. So it was very hard for us to tell them their son is no more with us, even though, in his last time we were with him, but his family were not. So they are really broken.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really tough, like we are not able to hear their screams, it\u2019s really hard to talk with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
They add another of Singh\u2019s goals was to buy his parents a brand-new car and explore Canada with them.<\/p>\n