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Some gangsters beyond hope, officer says
Those young Indo-Canadians are a lost generation, Insp. Kash Heed says
Kim BolanVancouver Sun
Thursday, October 27, 2005
VANCOUVER - Some young Indo-Canadian gangsters likely will remain involved in the criminal world and be forever lost to mainstream society, according to Vancouver police Insp. Kash Heed.
Heed, who has tackled gang violence through his work for years, was reacting to a double shooting Tuesday in east Vancouver in which two prominent gangsters were gunned down in a Vietnamese restaurant.
Both Balraj Duhre, 32, and his cousin Ravi Sahota, 25, are well-known to police. Duhre had survived two previous attempts on his life.
Heed said while police are trying to come up with innovative ways to tackle the problem, there is a realization that some young gangsters will never be rehabilitated.
"There are going to be some members in the Indo-Canadian community right now who are a lost generation and we are going to have to face that," said Heed, who is from the community.
"There are certain . . . young Indo-Canadian males right now that love this gangster lifestyle. We've talked to them. They know their life might be short, but they want to live it as hard and as fast as they can. They want to have the fancy car. They want to have the money. They want to go out to nightclubs, They don't want to earn this responsibly, like our parents did."
Heed said the Vancouver department is working with the police Integrated Indo-Canadian Task Force, but has also come up with some of its own solutions, including going to the parents of gangsters to let them know what their kids are up to.
"We are taking a leadership role in Vancouver in ensuring the streets of Vancouver are made as safe as possible, but we are going to have incidents like that, whether it is retaliation or not," Heed said.
Police are still looking for two suspects in the double shooting, which left both men in hospital with serious injuries. Duhre had surgery Wednesday and may be paralysed. Sahota also remains in serious condition.
Two shooters, who may have been Indo-Canadian or Asian, entered the Pho 66 restaurant at 3663 East Hastings about 1:15 p.m. and fired about 12 shots from automatic weapons that could have been Uzis, hitting Duhre and Sahota before fleeing in a silver four-door car.
Vancouver police Const. Tim Fanning said investigators want to talk to anyone who was in the vicinity of the 3600-block of East Hastings and may have seen something.
He said a second shooting on West 16th later Tuesday, targeting another Indo-Canadian gangster, was unrelated to the earlier attack.
That incident happened at about 7:30 p.m. and the shooter escaped. The gang squad is investigating, Fanning said.
More than 90 young Indo-Canadians caught up in the gang lifestyle have been killed in B.C. since 1990. Most of the murders remain unsolved.
Fanning said it is amazing that no bystander was hit in the restaurant shooting, which happened during the busy lunch hour.
Duhre had been staying out of the province since two earlier attempts on his life, including one in July.
His brother Sandip was also shot at twice in recent months. Sandip is now serving a six-month sentence after pleading guilty to a weapons charge last month.
"It is a grave concern to us that innocent people will get caught in the crossfire," Fanning said. "Innocent people have died as a result of gang activity -- have been shot, have been murdered."
The Duhres have a long history of involvement in Indo-Canadian gang life, but had been trying to turn their lives around in recent months, their father Baldev told the Sun.
kbolan@png.canwest.com
Some gangsters beyond hope, officer says
Those young Indo-Canadians are a lost generation, Insp. Kash Heed says
Kim BolanVancouver Sun
Thursday, October 27, 2005
VANCOUVER - Some young Indo-Canadian gangsters likely will remain involved in the criminal world and be forever lost to mainstream society, according to Vancouver police Insp. Kash Heed.
Heed, who has tackled gang violence through his work for years, was reacting to a double shooting Tuesday in east Vancouver in which two prominent gangsters were gunned down in a Vietnamese restaurant.
Both Balraj Duhre, 32, and his cousin Ravi Sahota, 25, are well-known to police. Duhre had survived two previous attempts on his life.
Heed said while police are trying to come up with innovative ways to tackle the problem, there is a realization that some young gangsters will never be rehabilitated.
"There are going to be some members in the Indo-Canadian community right now who are a lost generation and we are going to have to face that," said Heed, who is from the community.
"There are certain . . . young Indo-Canadian males right now that love this gangster lifestyle. We've talked to them. They know their life might be short, but they want to live it as hard and as fast as they can. They want to have the fancy car. They want to have the money. They want to go out to nightclubs, They don't want to earn this responsibly, like our parents did."
Heed said the Vancouver department is working with the police Integrated Indo-Canadian Task Force, but has also come up with some of its own solutions, including going to the parents of gangsters to let them know what their kids are up to.
"We are taking a leadership role in Vancouver in ensuring the streets of Vancouver are made as safe as possible, but we are going to have incidents like that, whether it is retaliation or not," Heed said.
Police are still looking for two suspects in the double shooting, which left both men in hospital with serious injuries. Duhre had surgery Wednesday and may be paralysed. Sahota also remains in serious condition.
Two shooters, who may have been Indo-Canadian or Asian, entered the Pho 66 restaurant at 3663 East Hastings about 1:15 p.m. and fired about 12 shots from automatic weapons that could have been Uzis, hitting Duhre and Sahota before fleeing in a silver four-door car.
Vancouver police Const. Tim Fanning said investigators want to talk to anyone who was in the vicinity of the 3600-block of East Hastings and may have seen something.
He said a second shooting on West 16th later Tuesday, targeting another Indo-Canadian gangster, was unrelated to the earlier attack.
That incident happened at about 7:30 p.m. and the shooter escaped. The gang squad is investigating, Fanning said.
More than 90 young Indo-Canadians caught up in the gang lifestyle have been killed in B.C. since 1990. Most of the murders remain unsolved.
Fanning said it is amazing that no bystander was hit in the restaurant shooting, which happened during the busy lunch hour.
Duhre had been staying out of the province since two earlier attempts on his life, including one in July.
His brother Sandip was also shot at twice in recent months. Sandip is now serving a six-month sentence after pleading guilty to a weapons charge last month.
"It is a grave concern to us that innocent people will get caught in the crossfire," Fanning said. "Innocent people have died as a result of gang activity -- have been shot, have been murdered."
The Duhres have a long history of involvement in Indo-Canadian gang life, but had been trying to turn their lives around in recent months, their father Baldev told the Sun.
kbolan@png.canwest.com
© The Vancouver Sun 2005
