One man was taken to hospital Wednesday afternoon after a brazen daytime shooting in Coquitlam that police say could be gang related.
Witnesses said the victim was standing outside of his black Nissan Altima in one of the oil change bays at the Mr. Lube on Barnet Highway near Lansdowne Drive when another man approached from the front of the building and began firing. The suspect fired approximately five shots before jumping into a nearby vehicle and speeding off.
One woman, who stayed with the victim while paramedics arrived, said he was responsive and told bystanders that he was all right.
"I thought it was a car backfiring," she told The Tri-City News. "We went running over."
Another witness, who was parked in front of the Mr. Lube facing Barnet, said the shooter walked right past his car while he was waiting for a fluid change. The suspect did not cover his face and was holding a handgun, he added.
"I was just getting my oil changed," he said. "Who knew this would happen?"
RCMP Sgt. Peter Thiessen said the victim, who is well-known to a variety of police organizations throughout the Lower Mainland, was expected to recover.
(The Vancouver Sun identified the victim as Jaskaran Sandhu, 24, of Delta.)
Thiessen added that the shooter had no regard for workers and customers who were at the Mr. Lube, when the suspect began firing at the victim.
"In all likelihood, it is a targeted shooting," Thiessen said. "We are looking at whether this shooting is gang related."
He said it is too early to tell whether the Coquitlam incident is related to the heightened gang tensions following the shooting death last month in Kelowna of high-profile gang member and Port Moody resident Jonathan Bacon.
Last week, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit issued a rare public warning, saying that anyone associated with gang members, particularly the Dhak and Duhre group, could be at risk.
"We don't do this everyday but we take this very seriously," Supt. Tom McCluskie said in a press release last week. "Given the growing gang tensions and potential for violence in the Lower Mainland, we want to assure the public that every effort is being made to get ahead of this violence should it erupt again on our streets."
