Calgary shooting victim tied to B.C. gangs

A man reported to have ties with gangs in British Columbia was killed and his brother injured in a shooting in a popular Calgary club district early Sunday morning.

Calgary police were called to the area of 18 Avenue and 4 Street S.W. at about 2:30 a.m. after reports of gunshots.

When officers arrived, they found David Tajali, 33, wounded and slumped behind the wheel of a black BMW with B.C. licence plates stopped in the northbound curb lane in the 1800 block of 4 Street S.W. He later died in hospital.

Police say a woman in the passenger seat escaped without injury, and a second man, who police later determined was Tajali's brother Niki, walked to a local hospital where he was treated for a non-life threatening gunshot wound.

None of the victims were co-operative with police, but Calgary police Insp. Keith Pollock said investigators were especially interested in talking to two women seen chatting to a man just before the shooting.

Previous hit and gang links

David and Niki Tajali first entered gang life as a part of the Persian Pride but were later affiliated with the violent United Nations Gang, which is closely tied to the FOB killers, a major crime organization in Calgary, according to CBC sources.

There were at least three previous attempts to shoot the brothers. In 2006, David Tajali was shot in the leg in Anmore, B.C.

In January 2007, Kirk Holifield was shot dead just blocks from David Tajali's Richmond home while driving a black pickup truck that was identical to Tajali's. Police called Holifield an innocent victim in a deadly case of mistaken identity.

Days after Holifield was killed, the Tajali brothers were part of a gunfight in Richmond's Dover Park. Police said 150 shots were fired from automatic weapons. Niki Tajali was injured, along with two others.