Fatal shooting outside Langley Sportsplex believed to be gang related
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team has confirmed a man in his 40s is dead after a fatal shooting outside the Langley Sportsplex on 91A Avenue at around 9 a.m. PT Wednesday morning.
IHIT spokesperson Sgt. Frank Jang said the shooting was targeted and that the victim — whose name has not been made public — is well known to police.
"If he is who we think he is, he's related to gang activity," said Jang.
A grey Dodge pickup truck believed to be the getaway vehicle was found burning soon after in the 1200-block of Riverside Drive in Port Coquitlam, right beside Terry Fox Secondary School.
Jang said the "route of least resistance" for the suspects to end up at that location would have been to cross the Golden Ears Bridge and then drive west on the Lougheed Highway.
IHIT is appealing to anyone with dashcam footage from the locations, or anyone who crossed the Golden Ears Bridge in either direction around 9 a.m., to contact them.
"If you have a dashcam … you may very well have the footage of the shooter and perhaps those who are aiding and abetting. It is so crucial you call us," said Jang.
Investigators are also asking that anyone who was at the busy Langley Sportsplex around the time of the killing speak to them.
The Langley Sportsplex houses a daycare, a gym, four sheets of ice and is across the street from a movie theatre and restaurants.
Unconfirmed reports say a body was seen lying on the ground outside the front doors of the facility.
The homicide is the third fatal shooting in a busy Metro Vancouver public space.
On Saturday night, Harpreet Singh Dhaliwal, 31, was gunned down outside of Cardero's restaurant in Coal Harbour in what police called a targeted hit. Jang said investigators were looking into links between Dhaliwal's homicide and the one in Langley.
On Monday, 20-year-old Bailey McKinney died in a targeted shooting at Town Centre Skatepark in Coquitlam. IHIT said there were roughly 50 people in the park at the time. Investigators do not believe McKinney's death is related to the Langley homicide, according to Jang.
