Police in Surrey, B.C., are investigating what they believe to be the latest in a string of extortion-related shootings after another business was damaged by gunfire Monday.
A statement from the Surrey Police Service says officers were called shortly after 8 a.m. to investigate a complaint that a business in the 19300 block of Langley Bypass had been shot at overnight.
Attending officers have confirmed the business was struck by bullets, the statement said. The business was closed at the time of the shooting and there have been no reported injuries.
“At this early stage, it is believed to be extortion-related,” police said.
Nearly two dozen people have been victimized in an estimated 34 extortion attempts in Surrey alone this month. The city’s police service says seven of those attempts have involved gunfire targeting residents’ homes and businesses.
Neighbouring communities have not escaped the extortion-related violence either, with shootings last week in Langley and Delta linked to the same issue.
“Those numbers are disturbing, and they should be very upsetting to everybody,” Surrey police spokesperson Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton told CTV News on Monday. “It’s wholly unacceptable that there are people in our community that are victimizing and, in some cases, repeatedly victimizing residents and business owners.”
Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke addressed the rising violence in her community last week, saying in a statement that “everyone deserves to feel safe in their neighbourhoods, and residents want to know that these crimes are being addressed quickly and forcefully.”
Locke said she plans to meet with B.C. Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Nina Krieger to discuss the issue, adding the city is already doing everything within its power to end the violence.
“Our focus will be on identifying meaningful, effective actions that can be implemented quickly to restore public safety,” Locke said.
The Surrey Police Service says officers with the General Investigation Unit have taken conduct of the latest case, and investigators are asking anyone with information or video evidence related to the shooting to come forward.
“We need continued community pressure on people who are behind this,” Houghton added. “The last thing we want is for victims, or for potential victims, to become numb to this. We still need them to call us and contact us.”
With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Ben Nesbit
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