Police officers attend the scene of a shooting outside of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib temple, in Surrey, B.C., Monday, June 19, 2023. Homicide investigators in Surrey, B.C., have released descriptions of the killers of a Sikh temple leader, but say they need video to help solve the crime. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jennifer Gauthier
SURREY, B.C. – Homicide investigators in Surrey, B.C., have released descriptions of the killers of a Sikh temple leader, but say they need video to help solve the crime.
Sgt. Timothy Pierotti says the two suspects in the shooting death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar are heavier-set males who were wearing face coverings.
Pierotti says that after shooting Nijjar outside Surrey’s Guru Nanak Sikh gurdwara, the men are believed to have escaped on foot through a nearby park and met a vehicle on the other side.
He says investigators from B.C.’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team are looking for witnesses or video from near the park or at the temple on Sunday evening, including recordings from Tesla vehicles that don’t need to be occupied for the dash cameras to be on.
Pierotti says they have no reason to believe the Sikh community is at risk because the shooting of Nijjar was targeted.
Nijjar had been organizing an unofficial Khalistan referendum on a separate Sikh state in India, and his lawyer has said Nijjar’s safety had been threatened after a reward was offered by the Indian government for his arrest.
Police say Nijjar was shot dead around 8.30 p.m. Sunday night as he was leaving the car park of the gurdwara where he served as president.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 21, 2023.
