Second accused charged for shooting Sikh man to death in Canada
Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 21 Jun, 2023 05:26 PM
Toronto, June 21 (IANS) A second accused has been charged with first-degree murder in a New Year's Day shooting that left a 51-year-old Sikh father dead and his 21-year-old daughter injured in Canada.
Daqwan Roshayne Howard Lee, 28, was arrested on Monday and charged with first-degree murder, aggravated assault and discharging a firearm with intent, Edmonton police said.
Police said Barinder Singh and his daughter were "innocent victims of a wrongly targeted crime".
Lee is the second person charged in the shooting, after Tevahn Orr, 31, who was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant, turned himself in to the Hamilton Police Service on March 21.
Orr was also charged with first degree murder, aggravated assault and discharging a firearm with intent.
On January 1, patrol officers responded to the report of a disturbance at a residence in the area of 16A Avenue and 38 Street.
Upon arrival, officers located an injured man and woman.
EMS responded, treated and transported Singh to hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
The 21-year-old woman was also taken to hospital with serious, non-life-threatening injuries and was later released.
A week later, the Edmonton Medical Examiner completed an autopsy on Singh and determined the cause of death to be gunshot wounds.
The manner of death was homicide.
Singh had moved from Punjab to Edmonton in 2019 along with his family.
The family told Global News the four of them were asleep when the front door was smashed in and bullets began flying.
"Somebody broke into the house," said Singh's wife Jasjeet Kaur.
"We all were sleeping and there was a number of gunshots."It's all like a nightmare for us," a shattered Kaur had said earlier responding to the tragedy.
The passenger is described as a South Asian male, 6’0’ tall, medium build, approximately 35 to 40 years old, with a trimmed beard, and wearing a black jacket. There was no description provided for the driver.
The boys are described as approximately eight to ten years old. It is possible that they had a skateboard and a scooter and departed toward Menzies Street. The girl is approximately eight years old. the man involved in Friday’s incident at Portage Park is not believed to be related to a previous report of suspicious activity on Cedar Creek Drive.
Emergency Communications Professionals of BC said in a news release that staffing shortages have forced call takers to work "well beyond" their normal hours, which it believes is unsustainable. The temporary provisions are set to expire Sept. 21, while the added mental health supports end in December, the union said.
“Based on the information collected so far, there is no question the driver of the SUV knew he hit the dog and its owner,” says Constable Jason Doucette. “Luckily the owner suffered only minor injuries, but the loss of one-and-a-half-year-old Tobi has been devastating for the family.”
It says starting at the end of November 2023, Canadians will be able to call 988 to be connected to a mental health crisis or suicide prevention service, free of charge. The Public Health Agency of Canada will decide which group will provide the service, along with the scope of care it will offer.
The motorcyclist, a man in his eighties from the Kamloops area, died as a result of the collision. The driver of the van, a man in his seventies from the East Kootenays, was not injured in the crash, remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators.
