Vancouver police have identified the city’s fourth homicide victim of the year.
Manoj Kumar, a 30-year-old Vancouver resident, was shot and killed Tuesday night near West Fourth Avenue and Burrard Street.
“Based on the circumstances surrounding the shooting, this appears to be a targeted homicide,” media relations officer Const. Jason Doucette said in a news release. “Although it’s very early in the investigation and we are still working to identify a motive, I can confirm that Mr. Kumar was not known to police and does not have any obvious connections to a criminal lifestyle.”
Doucette said police received several 911 calls at around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday reporting the sound of gunshots in the area.
Officers arrived to find Kumar sitting in a vehicle suffering from gunshot wounds. He died at the scene.
The suspect fled before officers arrived. No arrests have been made.
Doucette said there were initial reports of a vehicle leaving the area immediately after the shooting. A few hours later, just after midnight, officers were called to a vehicle fire on West 22nd Avenue at Yew Street.
“Although the vehicle has not been directly linked to the shooting, officers have seized it pending further investigation,” Doucette said.
Any witnesses, or anyone who was driving in the area at the time with dash-cam footage, is asked to contact investigators at 604-717-2500 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
@JessicaEKerr
