Calgary police investigating 28 extortion incidents targeting South Asian community

Calgary police are investigating 2 more extortion-related shootings. They're the latest in a series of shootings targeting the city's South Asian community.

Two recent shootings in the community of Saddle Ridge could be linked to a series of extortion-related cases in Calgary targeting the South Asian community, police say.

The first shooting was in the 8400 block of Saddle Ridge Drive N.E. just before 3 a.m. on Sunday. Police say someone fired several gunshots into a home before leaving in a white sedan.

Shots were also fired into a home in the 300 block of Savanna Park N.E. just after midnight on Monday. In that case, the offender fled on foot.

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No injuries were reported.

Speaking at a Monday news conference, Deputy Chief Asif Rashid with the Calgary Police Service’s bureau of investigative support said it’s unknown if the same person is responsible for both incidents.

He said the Savanna Park residents had reported two extortion attempts prior to the violence.  

“We take it very seriously when firearms are being shot into a residence that could conceivably be occupied at the nighttime hours,” he said.

Rashid said both cases have similarities to other extortion events they’re investigating, which have predominantly seen homeowners told to produce large sums of cash or face violence. They’re investigating those cases with help from the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams.

Members of the Calgary Police Service recently attended a meeting in Surrey, B.C., to discuss a potential national response to extortion cases such as these.

Rashid says a dedicated working group has been set up to look at the extortion series.

He says as of Monday, police are investigating 28 extortion-related cases in Calgary, 13 of which are connected to shootings.

“We’ve seen similar trends across the country, from [B.C.’s] lower mainland, to Edmonton, Calgary and even in Ontario. What we’re finding – for reasons that are still a little ambiguous – is that the offenders in many of these cases seem to be from the South Asian community. They speak in South Asian languages … And those victims too are often from the same communities.”

Rashid says the victims in many of the cases are “affluential, influential, business-type people” in the community.

“So perhaps that’s one reason or one cause that they’re being targeted,” he said. “But again, it’s early to define that with any certainty.”

Calgary first started seeing the extortion cases targeting the South Asian community in spring 2025.

Rashid says the investigation into those cases is the top priority for the Calgary Police Service right now.

“We have a robust suppression and disruption plan that we’re running every evening and every night in the affected communities,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that this situation happened despite the suppression plan.”

Rashid says it won’t be uncommon for people living in the communities recently linked to the extortion crimes to see an increased police presence.

Anyone with information on any extortion cases can call police at 403-266-1234.

Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers.

Police have also set up a dedicated email address people can reach out to: [e-mail].