Hours before Ripudaman Singh Malik was shot to death in Surrey, BC on Thursday, a white Honda CRV pulled up to the scene of the shooting.
“The occupants were waiting for Mr. Malik,” the sergeant said. David Lee of the Homicide Integrated Investigation Team at a news conference on Friday.
Authorities obtained surveillance video showing the vehicle arriving at 8236 128th Street, a complex where Malik ran a business, around 7 a.m.
He was fatally shot at 9:27 a.m.
A witness, who did not want to be identified, told CTV News that he heard three shots and ran to find Malik slumped in a vehicle with a single gunshot wound to the neck. The 75-year-old, who was one of two men acquitted in the notorious Air India bombings in 1985, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Shortly after the shooting, authorities said the same Honda CRV was found fully engulfed in flames near 82nd Avenue and 122A Street, less than a mile away.
Investigators have urged anyone who saw the vehicle at either location, or has a dash cam or surveillance video relevant to the investigation, to come forward.
So far, the motive for Malik’s murder remains unclear. Lee said the older man has had no recent interactions with police.
“We understand this is a high-profile international story, however we urge you not to speculate as to why,” he added. “Our homicide investigators will follow the evidence.”
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Homicide investigators are set to provide an update on the fatal shooting of the man who stood trial for the deadliest terrorist attack in Canadian history.
Ripudaman Singh Malik was acquitted of the notorious 1985 Air India bombings in 2005.
The 75-year-old man was shot outside his business in Surrey on Thursday when shots were heard just before 9:30 am near 82nd Avenue and 128th Street.
The Homicide Integrated Investigation Team will provide an update on the case Friday morning.
Witnesses described hearing three shots.
A man, who did not want to be identified, told CTV News that he found Malik slumped in a vehicle with a broken window in the parking lot of Malik’s business.
“He was alive, he was not dead. He just got shot in the neck, that’s all. I got him out of the car, I waited, we called 911. No one came for a while, only the police came. No ambulance came,” he told CTV News.
Police said they provided first aid until paramedics arrived, but Malik did not survive.
A burning vehicle was later found near 82nd Avenue and 122nd Street and is believed by investigators to be related to the murder.
Malik was one of two people acquitted in the mass murder of 331 people in two separate 1985 bombings of Air India planes.
“We are aware of Mr. Malik’s background, although at this time we are still working to determine the motive,” wrote IHIT Sgt. Timothy Pierotti in a press release.
Those who knew him were visibly shaken when officers stormed the complex.
“We can confirm that the shooting appears to be targeted and no further risk to the public is believed to be involved,” Pierotti said.
Police are asking witnesses or those with dash cam footage of any crime scene to contact the IHIT Information Line at 1-877-551-IHIT (4448) or via email at ihitinfo@rcmp. -grc.gc.ca.
With files from Michele Brunoro, Andrew Weichel and Bhinder Sajan of CTV Vancouver