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Two Shot Dead At Popular Ski Town As Suspected Gang Violence Leads To Lockdown

[Shutterstock/Ian Francis]

Kay Smythe News and Commentary Writer
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Canadian ski resort town Whistler was placed under lockdown Sunday after an alleged local gang member and another person were shot to death in broad daylight.

The shooting took place near the Sundial Hotel in the middle of Whistler Village and was reportedly related to an ongoing Lower Mainland gang conflict, according to the Vancouver Sun. Alleged Brother’s Keeper gang member Meninder Dhaliwal, 29, died at the scene, and his non-gang affiliated friend Satindera Gill later succumbed to his injuries, the outlet noted.

The entire town of Whistler was placed on lockdown for several hours following the shooting, the New York Post reported. Gruesome footage of the aftermath of the shooting surfaced Twitter, which should only be viewed with caution due to the very graphic nature of the content.

WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO BELOW

“It was like 10 shots, rapid fire. I lived in Kelowna for 30 years, I’ve heard gunshots before,” Fanatyk Co. Ski and Cycle employee Scott Cargo said, noting that the gunfire rang out around noon, according to the Vancouver Sun. “Then this 10-year-old kid comes running by our store and says ‘there’s guys shooting down there’ and he kept on running. I said, ‘You can come in.’ But he just kept on going.”

Meninder’s brother was killed in 2021 outside of a Vancouver nightclub, according to the NY Post. He and another of his brothers were reportedly later included in a warning poster developed and released by the Vancouver police in May 2021. (RELATED: REPORT: Coroner Says He Cried, Couldn’t Eat For A Week In Most Heinous Crime He’s Ever Seen)

“The photos that we’re releasing today represent those who pose significant public safety risks here in the City of Vancouver,” Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer said in 2021, according to the NY Post. “They not only pose a risk to their friends, families and acquaintances, but they also pose a risk to people who don’t even know them … every time they go to the gym, they go shopping, they go to the grocery store, a restaurant, or a bar.”

Police are reportedly looking for dashcam footage and witnesses to the shooting. Multiple people were apprehended Sunday in relation to the violence, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Timothy Pierotti told the Vancouver Sun.