News Headlines
Nishtha Anushree
Nov 13, 2023, 04:20 PM | Updated 04:20 PM IST
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Three recent gangland killings in Edmonton and Toronto are part of an ongoing gang conflict in British Columbia, highlighting the expanding and lethal impact of this feud.
Last Wednesday, B.C. United Nations gangster Parmvir Chahil was fatally shot in Toronto. The following day, an 11-year-old boy, along with his father and Brothers Keeper gang affiliate Harpreet Singh Uppal, was intentionally shot to death in south Edmonton.
The deliberate killing of the young boy represents a breach of the unwritten rules of gang conduct that typically spares children. Remarkably, the boy's friend, also in the targeted vehicle at a gas station in broad daylight, escaped unharmed.
Harpreet Singh Uppal and his family had been targeted in a 2021 shooting at a south Edmonton Royal Pizza, but the charges against the implicated gunman were later dropped.
While Edmonton police confirmed Uppal's higher-level role in the organised crime scene, they did not disclose specific affiliations with any particular groups, according to Times Now News.
Reports indicate that police have refrained from commenting on whether the shooting is in retaliation for prior violence or if there are expectations of retaliation for Uppal's killing.
However, a source from Postmedia News suggests that Uppal had strong associations with the Brothers Keepers, while Chahil was linked to the UN gang.
The conflict between the Brothers Keepers (BK) and the United Nations (UN) has been described as escalating, with public spaces across the Lower Mainland turning into battlegrounds.
Originating in the Vancouver area, the tit-for-tat slayings are now spreading across the country, involving various B.C. gangs, including the Red Scorpion-Kang group.
Nishtha Anushree is Senior Sub-editor at Swarajya. She tweets at @nishthaanushree.