Man wanted in drive-by shootings linked to extortions, arsons

Police say a man wanted for three drive-by shootings connected to a series of extortions and arsons in Winnipeg and Alberta has fled to India.

The Edmonton Police Service has issued Canada-wide warrants for 19-year-old Arjun Sahnan of Edmonton, who is allegedly responsible for the shootings. Investigators have determined he left Canada on a flight he booked before the second and third shootings.

Sahnan was previously arrested in connection with the extortions and arsons but was released.

The homeowners in the first two shootings were extorted for money and threatened beforehand, Edmonton police said in a news release Tuesday.

The Winnipeg incident was the second of the three shootings. Edmonton police said three shots were fired at a home in the Maples/Meadows West area occupied by several family members at 8:45 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

One bullet went through a bedroom, barely missing the person inside, and passed through a connecting wall and into an adjacent occupied room, police said. The shooting was captured on security cameras in the area.

Investigators are asking the public for tips regarding a second man connected with the Winnipeg shooting and released images of him. The vehicle used was a black SUV with no front licence plate. Police are looking for information about the SUV.

Winnipeg police had no comment on the shooting Tuesday. It appears they did not issue a news release regarding the shooting after it happened.

Edmonton police call their investigation into a series of extortions and arsons Project Gaslight. Home builders from South Asian communities are the victims in the crimes. Police are investigating 34 events related to the extortion series since October. The suspects use Whatsapp to text or call victims and demand large sums of money.

A firefighter was injured in one of the arsons, which are usually committed by a group of young adults and youth carrying jerry cans. The arsons and shootings have caused an estimated $10 million in property damage.

Failure to pay the money demanded results in arson or other property damage to new home builds, show homes and related property, Edmonton police said in January.

“The suspects have also been known to make followup demands for higher sums of money, leading to an escalation of violence and drive-by shootings,” a news release said.

Police have determined through ballistic analysis that the same gun was used in all three shootings.

Sahnan was among the Project Gaslight suspects previously taken into custody. He was arrested on five firearms-related charges during a vehicle stop in Edmonton on Dec. 30 and was released.

Sahnan does not have any past or outstanding charges in the Manitoba court system.

“Committing gun crime in other provinces and fleeing the country will not prevent us from charging a suspect and holding them accountable,” Staff Sgt. Eric Stewart of the Edmonton Police Service’s guns and gangs section said in the release.

The first shooting happened in the Cy Becker neighbourhood of Edmonton at 2:50 a.m. on Dec. 21. Shots were fired at a window of the upstairs bedroom, where the homeowners were sleeping. Four other people, two of them children, were also asleep at the time.

The next week, at 1:08 a.m. on Dec. 29, shots were fired at an unoccupied home in the Fountain Creek neighbourhood of Sherwood Park, Alta. One bullet went through a window and into a children’s playroom, striking a toy box. No one was hurt, and the suspect vehicle was seen on security video. The homeowner was not threatened before the shooting, and investigators believe the shooter fired at the wrong house in error.

Edmonton police are asking anyone who has information about Sahnan’s whereabouts, other suspects, the SUV or the crimes to contact them at projectgaslight@edmontonpolice.ca or 1-780-391-4279. Information can also be provided anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or online at www.p3tips.com/250.

adam.treusch@freepress.mb.ca