Surrey family terrified after shots were fired at their home in apparent case of mistaken identity
RCMP say a letter was left at the scene for the intended target, who was linked to property's previous owner
A Surrey family is reeling after someone shot at their home in what police believe was a case of mistaken identity.
Bullets tore into a home in the 8600-block of Tulsy Crescent East in Newton just before 3 a.m. PT Wednesday, police said.
RCMP said they believe the people who live in the home were not the intended targets.
Sukhjit Garcha, who has lived at the residence with his wife, three young daughters and his parents for around five months, said he and his family were sleeping when they were woken up by a loud noise.
"Then we saw the holes in the windows," he said.
Garcha said bullets hit windows, cars and even a scooter in the garage.
He is grateful that no one was injured. His mother was sleeping on a couch near a window that was struck by gunfire.
"It's really scary," he said, adding that the shooters only missed her by a few feet.
Letter for target
On Thursday, Surrey RCMP told CBC News that a letter addressed to the intended target was left on a car in the property's driveway.
The force would not reveal who that target was — only that the incident is not believed to be connected to gang violence.
"Speaking with the current owners of the residence, the evidence we gathered so far pointed to a person who may have been associated with the previous owners," RCMP Const. Sarbjit Sangha said.
Police alerted the person named in the letter to "let the person know what is the threat level to their life," Sangha said. "We have spoken with this individual and told them they were the target of this shooting."
Police said they also alerted the home's previous owners to the threat.
Garcha said police took surveillance video from the cameras in his home to try to find the shooters.
RCMP said they are aware of a video related to the incident that is circulating on social media.
CBC British Columbia has launched a Surrey pop-up bureau to help tell your stories with reporter Kiran Singh. Story ideas and tips can be sent to kiran.singh@cbc.ca.
With files from David P. Ball