Shooting at Surrey, B.C., car wash came after extortion attempt, owner says

An owner of a car wash in Surrey says his business was targeted with gunfire days after receiving an extortion attempt.

The owner of a Surrey, B.C., car wash that was targeted with gunfire this week said he received an extortion attempt days before the shooting.

Lovepreet Singh told CTV News he opened 1313 Car Wash about two-and-a-half years ago, and that everything had been “going very smooth” – until last weekend.

Late Saturday night, Singh said he started receiving a string of WhatsApp calls on his cellphone.

“They are calling back to back, back to back,” he recalled. “They’re disturbing me so I just picked up.”

The callers then demanded $50,000, Singh said.

“They’re abusing me, yelling at me,” he said. “I explained to them, I am just renting the property and I don’t have my own house, I’m renting the house, too.”

“I’m not like the big businessman or a millionaire,” he added.

Singh said the callers told him he’d be coming by his house. After waiting a while, he eventually turned in for the night – but surveillance video shows two men approaching and repeatedly knocking on the door in the early morning hours.

Then, on Monday night, Singh was notified about a shooting at his business on 128 Street and 84 Avenue.

The Surrey Police Service told CTV News officers spotted the bullet holes at 1313 Car Wash while patrolling the area around 11 p.m.

“The business was closed, and no employees were on scene at the time of the incident,” the SPS said, in a statement.

Apart from the damage from the gunfire, Singh said approximately $20,000 worth of supplies and equipment were stolen from his shop.

“They took all the chemical supplies, air compressor, pressure washer, carpet extractor, even the cord extension and the expensive polisher – everything,” he said.

Surrey police said its Frontline Investigative Support Team has assumed conduct of the investigation, but that the motive for the shooting remains under investigation.

Singh said the incident has left him, his family and his employees shaken.

“I’m so worried and scared, it’s a very hard time for me,” he said. “The neighbourhood shops are also worried because it can happen over here it can happen over there in the middle of the night, so nobody’s safe.”

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Ben Nesbit