The apparently targeted shooting of Harpreet Singh Dhaliwal may be connected to two other incidents that occurred nearby this weekend, according to police.
Dhaliwal was shot and killed around 8:30 p.m. Saturday (April 17) near Cardero's restaurant in Coal Harbour; he's been connected to gang activity. The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) states two separate incidents nearby are being investigated and may be connected to the shooting.
Police tried to run a traffic stop on a car that was associated with gang activity near the location of the shooting. Instead of stopping the driver sped off.
He then crashed the car into poles along Coal Harbour.
"Three people fled the crashed car and ran toward the seawall," state the VPD in a press release. "More than a dozen police officers searched for the suspects, who remain outstanding."
Around 8:40 p.m. police responded to a stabbing. A man with stab wounds made it to the courtyard of a building at West Hastings and Broughton streets before collapsing; that location is about a three-minute walk from Cardero's.
"VPD officers immediately responded and provided care to the stabbing victim until paramedics arrived and transported the man to hospital, where he remains with serious injuries," states the VPD in the release.
The two incidents have not been connected to Dhaliwal's murder, but investigators are looking for any possible links.
There's also the issue of Vancouver's recent high temps: "I can't draw a correlation between weather and gang violence," noted VPD Sgt. Steve Addison at a press conference held Monday, April 19.
