Surrey, B.C., radio station says journalists won’t be deterred after targeted shooting at studio

Shots were fired at a Surrey radio station over the weekend in what is being probed as another extortion-related crime in B.C.

The newly formed Provincial Extortion Task Force has taken over the investigation into the latest barrage of bullets targeting a South Asian business in B.C.

This time it happened at Swift Radio, a new station operating out of space in a Surrey business park.

Fortunately, nobody was inside when the shots rang out Monday night and staff did not discover the shooting and alert police until they arrived for work Tuesday morning.

The front door and wall around it were riddled with bullets, some of which went through the exterior and hit a window to the broadcast studio.

“When you look at it, these were not shots that were fired at random at a building or to scare,” said Swift host and former MLA Jinny Sims, as she pointed out the bullet holes. “These shots were fired directly into a studio where the radio hosts sit, and they raise critical issues that are important in our community. Look at this. Here is the gunshot. And over there I would be sitting.”

Just hours before the shooting, Surrey Police Service Chief Const. Norm Lipinski was in that studio for an interview with Sims about extortion-related shootings.

SPS said there have been 48 extortion investigations in the city so far in 2025.

This case has been handed over to the provincial task force.

“Surrey police, and other police agencies, have spoken with the owner of this business in the past. And that’s what leads us to believe this is extortion related,” said Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton.

Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre raised the shooting the House of Commons on Wednesday, saying he had spoken with the station’s owner about it.

“He said his family cannot sleep,” Poilievre told the house.

Investigators have linked a number of extortion cases targeting South Asian businesses across the country with the India-based Bishnoi gang.

On Monday, the federal government declared the group a terrorist entity.

Last week, a Vancouver Island judge sentenced an accused Bishnoi member for a shooting and arson at the home of renowned Punjabi musician AP Dhillon in Colwood in September of 2024.

Although nobody was injured, 26-year-old Abjeet Kingra was convicted of arson damaging property and recklessly discharging a firearm.

He was handed a six-year sentence for his role in the attack.

Sims thinks the station’s coverage of the extortion cases and the Bishnoi gang may be a motive for the shooting at Swift Radio but says the station’s journalists will not be deterred by the violence.

“Tomorrow we will be doing the same. The day after we will be doing the same. Because this issue is about public safety and everyone has a right to feel safe,” she said.

Investigators are asking any potential witnesses, and any drivers with dashcam video from the area of 130th Street and 76th Avenue on Monday evening, to come forward.