Two people have now been charged in connection with a fatal highway shooting south of Edmonton earlier this month in what Alberta Police described as a “senseless crime.”
In a news conference Wednesday afternoon, RCMP staff Sgt. John Brown said 22-year-old Barinder Singh was driving with two close friends on March 14 along the QEII Highway near Leduc when he was shot in the neck.
“Despite being shot, Barinder and his two friends were able to safely stop the vehicle. He died shortly after,” Brown said.
Police say that at around 2:50 p.m. on March 14, a witness saw a pickup truck pull up beside a black 2012 Honda Civic, owned by Singh.
According to investigators, there was a brief interaction between those in the two vehicles before the shooting, including a hand gesture resembling a peace sign, which was held up at the victim’s car.
The victims in the vehicle assumed it was a peace sign and Singh returned the gesture, according to his friends who were also in the vehicle.
Moments later, shots were fired from the suspect vehicle, hitting Singh in the neck. The truck sped away at a high rate of speed.
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A friend who had been in the car with Singh, and who does not want to be identified due to safety concerns, told Global News he doesn’t understand why anyone would do this. “We tried to put pressure on his wounds and call 911,” the friend said.
“There was so much blood loss. I tried really hard but could not save him.”
RCMP said both vehicles were travelling southbound side by side when the incident happened, and the groups had no prior connection.
Jimmy Gassner, 18, of Lloydminster, was arrested on March 21 in Canoe Lake, Sask., and charged with second-degree murder, according to police.
Investigators allege Gassner was a passenger in the truck and fired the shots. Gassner was already known to police for other charges as a minor.
A second suspect, 23-year-old Deon Libsekil, was arrested on March 26.
Brown said Libsekil was also known to police and already in custody on unrelated matters. He has now been charged with second-degree murder and accessory after the fact.
Libsekil has been remanded into custody and is scheduled to appear in court on April 2.
RCMP said they believe all suspects connected to the shooting have now been identified and charged.
While a motive has not been fully confirmed, Brown said, “it’s partially random.”
Police say there is no evidence the shooting was motivated by hate or racial bias and confirmed the victim and his friends were not involved in criminal activity or gang affiliation. “The victims were fully random,” Brown added.
RCMP also ruled out robbery, road rage and gang initiation as motives, though investigators say there may be some connection to gang activity among the suspects.
RCMP say Singh’s family is currently outside Canada, and officers have been in contact with them.
Investigators are also reassuring members of the Sikh community that the killing was not targeted.
“This was not racially motivated … this is not a pattern, it is a one-off event,” Brown said.
Brown added that these types of “random, senseless attacks” are very rare and thanked all detachments for their hard work in a successful investigation.
“The investigation team did an amazing job,” he said after explaining random incidents like this are usually the most difficult type of case to piece together.
– With files from Global News’ Karen Bartko
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