Police in British Columbia are urging Sikh community members to overcome their fears by providing any evidence in the shooting death of a local gurdwara president who advocated for a separate Sikh state in India.
Surrey RCMP confirmed Monday that 45-year-old Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot and killed in his vehicle as he was leaving the Guru Nanak Sikh temple in Surrey, B.C., on Sunday night.
Nijjar is accused of terrorism and conspiracy to murder in India.
Assistant Commissioner Brian Edwards called Nijjar's killing "brazen" and "appalling," and said it was "disgusting" that the incident happened at a place of worship, with many other community members present during the attack.
Edwards said the only way for people to respond should be to come forward with evidence to help solve the case.
"How we deal with fear is we come together," he said during a news conference. "Everybody comes together and makes a statement and says, 'We're not going to take this.'"
"Everybody who's a witness comes forward. Everybody who has dashcam video. Everybody who hears something comes together, and we bring it forward to advance the investigation."
There was a heavy police presence outside the temple Monday, including an RCMP mobile command vehicle. A steady stream of Sikh community members arrived at the temple but they declined to speak to reporters.
Police had taped off part of Guru Nanak Way, a private road leading into the parking lot. Several community members tried to get closer to the scene but were turned away by police.
Sgt. Tim Pierotti of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, which is heading the investigation, said they are aware that the shooting death of the high-profile Sikh community member has triggered speculation about the attack's motives.
He said investigators are focusing on "letting the evidence lead," and that is why community participation by speaking up or providing things like dashcam footage from the evening of the shooting will be crucial to solving the case.
"There are a lot of vehicles that record … even if the vehicle is off," Pierotti said. "So, please check that dash cam footage is reported to us if you do have anything that has been recorded."
Police confirmed they are aware of a burning vehicle found in Coquitlam shortly after the shooting, but have yet to definitively link the vehicle to the case.
At an unrelated news conference on Monday, Premier David Eby called the shooting a heinous crime.
"Like many people in Surrey and many British Columbians, I'm profoundly disturbed that somebody was murdered in our community on the grounds of a place of worship in front of many witnesses."
The general secretary of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Society said Nijjar was alone in his pickup truck when he was attacked as he was leaving the temple's parking lot.
Bhupinder Singh Hothi said Nijjar previously received death threats because of his support for a separate Sikh state of Khalistan, in India, but the shooting will not deter those who share his beliefs.
Surrey RCMP said officers received reports of the shooting at about 8:27 p.m. Sunday and the victim died at the scene.
Police say they are searching for suspects and trying to confirm a motive for the homicide.
“We’re not gonna let people come into this community and do these things anywhere, let alone in a house of worship," said Edwards. "We're not going to stand for it."
A video posted on Twitter about 90 minutes after the shooting showed a large crowd gathered outside the gurdwara, the scene illuminated by the flashing lights of police cars.
Some in the crowd chanted in Punjabi, “Long live Khalistan,” “We want a separate Khalistan,” and “Death to India,” as RCMP officers looked on.
A video also circulating on social media shows a person slumped over in the driver’s seat of a grey pickup truck, the windows shattered.
Hothi said he did not know why Nijjar was shot, but he had previously been threatened over his Khalistan advocacy. “He was raising his voice for his homeland."
In India, Nijjar had been accused of terrorism-related offences and insurrection.
India's counterterrorism National Investigation Agency last year issued a charge sheet that also accused Nijjar of conspiring to murder Hindu priest Kamaldeep Sharma, who the agency said was killed by a "terror gang" in a village in Jalandhar, Punjab.
In a video posted by the gurdwara on its Facebook page, an unidentified man said in Punjabi that Nijjar had been "martyred."
"Nijjar was silenced but his voice will live forever. We will become his voice," the man said.
The World Sikh Organization of Canada, a non-profit which said it advocates for the interests of Canadian Sikhs, issued a news release on Monday that called the killing an "assassination."
It said the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and police "were aware of the threat to Nijjar as well as other Sikh activists in Canada."
"The fact that he was assassinated in this manner is a failure of these bodies to provide protection to someone they knew would be targeted," the organization's president, Tejinder Singh Sidhu, said in the release.
He added: "The role of foreign interference from India must be thoroughly investigated and those responsible for this crime must be brought to justice."
The news release said Nijjar denied being involved in any criminal activity.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2023.
Chuck Chiang and Hina Alam, The Canadian Press
