Sikh group calls for hate crime investigation into QEII shooting death of student

A 22-year-old man from Edmonton is dead after being shot while driving on the QEII over the weekend. CTV News Edmonton's Amanda Anderson reports.

A national Sikh organization is calling for Alberta RCMP to investigate whether the 22-year-old man killed in a shooting on the QEII Saturday was targeted for his Sikh identity.

Birinder Singh was an international student who had just secured a work permit for a job in Edmonton. He was driving his friends to Banff to celebrate, according to World Sikh Organization (WSO) board member Harman Singh Kandola.

RCMP say a pickup truck was seen pulling up next to the group’s car near Leduc just before 3 p.m. before speeding off. Investigators have confirmed shots were fired, which killed Singh.

His passengers reached out to the WSO, Kandola says, which in turn prompted a statement from the group identifying Singh’s death as a “sudden, unprovoked act of extreme violence.”

“A lot of times, if you talk to members of the Sikh community, especially those who carry their symbols of the faith when they’re on the highway, people will wave to them, be intimidating,” Kandola told CTV News Edmonton on Friday.

He explained the passengers believed their interaction with the suspect pickup truck to be innocent until they heard gunshots.

“They weren’t immediately aware of what it was … then they realized that Birinder had been struck in the neck. He was still aware enough to be able to pull over,” Kandola recalls.

“The other members in the vehicle were just shocked, and had no way to understand what just took place, because it was so random.”

Mounties previously told media they were investigating the possibility that the fatal shooting was related to road rage. CTV News Edmonton has reached out for further comment on whether a hate crime motive was being considered.

The WSO, which advocates against anti-Sikh hate across Canada, said it’s noted an uptick in hate crimes nationwide in past years.

“It’s concerning, you know, when you have a story of a newcomer who came here for a better opportunity that was shot randomly to death,” Kandola said of the group’s decision to release a statement.

On Thursday, RCMP confirmed they had found a grey 2022 Ford F150 they believe was involved in the shooting. It’s now in police custody.

Mounties are still asking for any available witnesses or dashcam footage of Highway 2 near township Road 490 at around 2:50 p.m.