A nature trail in a quaint hillside Coquitlam neighbourhood was a crime scene Wednesday as police investigated what’s believed to be the third “targeted homicide” in the Lower Mainland since April.
The B.C. Ambulance Service called police to a path near the 800-block Ranch Park Way at 3000-block Spuraway Avenue, near the intersection of Lougheed Highway and Dewdney Trunk Road, at 7 a.m. Wednesday morning.
The trail leads down through a small wooded area to a cul-de-sac beside Meadowbrook Elementary School.
The coroner confirmed the victim was a man, and the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team later confirmed that he was killed at the spot where his body was discovered.
“The victim was known to police and it is believed that this was consistent with a targeted homicide,” Sgt. Jennifer Pound said in a release, which also stated that neighbours had heard what they thought were gunshots or firecrackers but nobody called police.
Police say it doesn’t appear that the victim is a neighbourhood resident.
One neighbour, who lives a block from the trail on Ranch Park Way, says she was watching TV at about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday when she heard “two, maybe three” popping noises.
“We hear trains and other noises around here, but this was different,” said the neighbour, who asked to remain anonymous. “The first thing I thought of was a gun.”
Tuesday night’s homicide is the third of its kind in the space of about a month.
On June 4, 43-year-old Balwinder Uppal died of multiple gunshot wounds in a home in the 7400 block of 140 Street in Surrey.
Three weeks later, 24-year-old Christopher Reddy was shot and killed. His body was found on the side of the road near 111 Avenue and 132 Street in Surrey.
Police said they believed both murders were targeted. Reddy’s death was also believed to be gang-related.
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