The victim of a fatal shooting Saturday night (Jan. 20) in Abbotsford is a man who was due for sentencing Tuesday in relation to a 2020 gang shootout.
A reliable confidential source confirmed Saturday night with The Abbotsford News that the man shot in a covered parkade outside the Best Buy at Sevenoaks Shopping Centre is Amritpal Saran, 25. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) released the name in a press release late Sunday afternoon (Jan. 21).
Saran, who was known by the nickname “Umba,” is Abbotsford’s first homicide of the year.
Const. Art Stele, media relations officer with the Abbotsford Police Department (APD), said reports came in at 5:51 p.m. about shots being fired.
Officers who arrived on scene found a man in a vehicle who had been shot and had life-threatening injuries. Stele said the man – whom he did not identify – died on scene.
Shortly after the shooting, police received reports of a vehicle fire in the 2900 block of Townshipline Road. Vehicles involved in gang-related homicides are commonly set on fire – to destroy evidence – a distance from the crime scene.
Police said they are still confirming whether there is a link between the two scenes.
Saran had been scheduled for sentencing Tuesday (Jan. 23) in Abbotsford provincial court after he pleaded guilty on May 15, 2023 to two charges on what was supposed to be the first day of his trial.
He pleaded guilty to possession of a restricted firearm and unauthorized possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle. Among the three charges that were stayed was unlawfully firing a gun.
RELATED: Man involved in Abbotsford gunfight pleads guilty to 2 charges
Saran was charged following an incident that took place Aug. 29, 2020 in the 33800 block of Mayfair Avenue.
Police reported at the time that a man said he and his girlfriend were in a vehicle in the driveway when occupants of a dark pickup fired shots at them, hitting the car and the house.
The suspects sped away, and nobody was injured.
The APD then announced on Dec. 10, 2020 that Saran – the man who had said he had been shot at – had been charged.
A court decision from Dec. 17, 2020 provided more details about the incident, after Saran was denied bail.
Judge Gregory Brown said in his ruling that Saran appeared to be “entrenched in a gangs-and-guns lifestyle,” and there was a strong case to prove that he had been the first to fire at gang rivals.
According to the court documents, Saran told police that he and his girlfriend were in a Volkswagen Jetta in his driveway when three or four occupants of a Ford F-150 pickup truck fired shots at them, hitting the car and the house.
Saran ran to the backyard of his home, and the girlfriend, who was in the driver’s seat, told police that she drove the Jetta into the truck and even temporarily drove after the pickup, but returned shortly afterwards, court documents stated. Nobody was injured.
Judge Brown wrote in his bail decision that video evidence allegedly showed that as a pickup truck pulled up to his home on Aug. 29, Saran jumped out of the passenger seat of the Jetta.
“Mr. Saran continually shot at the truck for about three seconds and the occupants of the truck then shot back … The video clearly depicts a gunfight in this residential neighbourhood and Mr. Saran was the first shooter,” Brown wrote.
RELATED: Man allegedly involved in Abbotsford gang-related gunfight is denied bail
Brown said the APD’s gang crime unit had identified Saran as a “public safety risk” and that he was allegedly known to carry a firearm. In 2019, Saran supposedly indicated that he was being targeted by rival gang members, but he did not take advantage of any exit options offered by police.
Saran, who had no prior criminal record, sought to be released from custody on $10,000 cash or a $50,000 surety and with stringent conditions that included a tight curfew, living at home with his parents, and not associating with known criminals.
But the judge agreed with the Crown that Saran should be detained due to the “gravity of the offence.” Brown referenced past gang violence in Abbotsford, saying that “sometimes innocent people are injured or killed in the crossfire.”
It’s not clear in court records when Saran was released from custody.
Police say the investigation into Saran’s killing is in the early stages but it appears to be targeted. The investigation is now being headed by IHIT.
Anyone with information about the homicide or the car fire or who has dash-cam or CCTV footage is asked to call the IHIT info line at 1-877-551-4448 or ihitinfo@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.
The @shopsevenoaks entrance near Best Buy is surrounded by police tape following a shooting that left one man dead earlier this evening #abbotsford pic.twitter.com/lfmiQ7uRX4
— Ben Lypka (@BenLypka) January 21, 2024
