B.C. gang war leads to killings in Calgary, Nanaimo
The gang conflict of the Metro Vancouver area have spilled beyond its borders into the rest of Canada.
Over the last few days, police in Calgary have been investigating a targeted fatal shooting.
Officers responded to the 1800 block of 26 Avenue S.W. after 5:30 p.m. and found a “man suffering from gunshot wounds inside a vehicle” parked in the alley behind 26 Avenue S.W. He was later pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The victim, Gurkeert Kalkat of British Columbia, had been sentenced to three years in federal prison for trafficking fentanyl in 2018 . His brother, Jaskeert Kalkat, was killed earlier his month in a similar gang-related incident. Kalkat also received a 10-year firearms prohibition for drug trafficking in Calgary.
The same day, Mounties in Nanaimo confirmed a targeted shooting was related to the Metro Vancouver gang war. The killing happened around 3:30 p.m. on May 20, near a Wendy’s. Police ultimately arrested three suspects at a motel and seized a vehicle.
“There’s no borders. When these guys look for somebody, they look for them,” Doug Spencer, a former Vancouver police officer reported.
“If they are in Alberta, they’re back east, there has been a number of murders over the years with gangs murdered when they try to flee to Toronto or whatever, even as far as Mexico. Guys try to hide out there and they get killed.”
Spencer added that the theme of sibling involvement is not uncommon, noting that family ties are key to B.C.’s gang conflicts. Such examples include the Kang crime group. Gary and Randy Kang are two notorious criminals in that organization who have both been killed in gang-related incidents.
“Every little brother looks up to their big brother and they want to be like them,” Spencer said. “Historically, lots of times brothers, they all get involved in it. Brothers, cousins, it doesn’t matter.”
Kal Dosanjh, a B.C. police officer, also chimed in.
“It’s reflective of the cartel-type violence you’d see in Central and South America, namely to the fact it’s so brazen and bold out in public, they’re also trying [to] send a message saying it doesn’t matter where you go or where you are, we’re going to find you and take you out,” he said. “It comes in cycles and there’s peaks and valleys to this type of violence. Just because it dies down for a little while doesn’t mean it’s going to disappear altogether. We need to anticipate because of the lucrative nature of the drug trade, these things are always going to happen."
