Crime reporter Kim Bolan talks about 'violent gang war' raging in Vancouver that spilled into Calgary
Competition for territory in drug trade heated up with COVID-19 pandemic, Vancouver Sun reporter says
A man shot and killed in Calgary's southwest on the weekend is believed to have had ties to gangs in Vancouver, sparking concern that violence related to criminal groups may be spreading east.
The shooting took place on May 22 around 5:30 p.m. in the 1800 block of 26th Avenue S.W. When police arrived, they found a man, now identified as Gurkeert (Gary) Singh Kalkat, dead from gunshot wounds.
The victim's brother, 23-year-old Jaskeert Kalkat, was killed in a shooting outside a Cactus Club Cafe in Burnaby, B.C., on May 13. Police have said Jaskeert was linked to gang activity.
Calgary police said the homicide is believed to be directly related to the "ongoing gang conflict" taking place in the Lower Mainland and called it "targeted, pre-planned and deliberate."
Kim Bolan is a crime reporter at the Vancouver Sun who covers gang conflicts extensively, and spoke to the Calgary Eyeopener's David Gray on Wednesday morning to discuss the escalation of gang violence during the pandemic and why it spilled into Calgary.
The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.
What's going on in Vancouver with gangs right now?
A: Over the last year, [we] have had a pretty violent gang war raging in the streets. There have been a lot of very public shootings, including at malls, including at the Vancouver airport right outside the international terminal, and outside busy restaurants.
So the public is rightfully concerned about what's going on. There are at least three different groups and some independent drug traffickers that are involved in this conflict, and this year alone, we've seen more than 20 dead and more than 20 wounded.
Can you give me a quick overview of who these groups are?
A: The older gangs would be the the United Nations gang, which has extensive links in Calgary with the FK there.
There is also the Red Scorpion Gang, people will recognize that name, going back more than a dozen years, because we had that terrible Surrey Six massacre here in 2007. The Bacon brothers were connected to the Red Scorpion Gang.
And we have a newer gang called the Brothers Keepers, and some of these people have had associations with other gangs previously, but the Brothers Keepers has been around and evolved in the drug trade for four to five years at this point.
Do we know what happened to cause this latest violence?
A: There is more competition through the pandemic for the drug trade. Lots of drug use is occurring, but sometimes it's tougher to get product because of the border being shut down, so it's obviously battles over drug lines and drug territory.
There's also some personal conflicts. Some of these guys used to be together in the same organization and then they split. And so their former friend is now their enemy and they're willing to take this dramatic and drastic action.
What do we know about the man shot and killed in southwest Calgary this last weekend?
A: He grew up in Surrey, B.C. His name is Gurkeert (Gary) Singh Kalkat.
He was born in 1995, and prior to him landing in Calgary, he was connected to the Brothers Keepers gang. He was convicted of drug trafficking, and was serving a three year sentence, so he was residing in a halfway house right near where he was shot to death.
Some are saying he planned to change his life around and not be involved in this, but that's the problem with this world — even if you want to leave it, it may not want to leave you.
His brother [23-year-old Jaskeert Kalkat] was very brazenly gunned down [in Burnaby, B.C.] just outside a mall on May 13, nine days before Gary was killed.
Do we have any idea why someone wanted him dead? Was it simply a gang affiliation, had he done something — do we know?
A: Gurkeert had been in jail since August of 2019, so this would clearly be more retaliation for the airport murder in Vancouver, which occurred a few days before Jaskeert was killed on May 13.
I think there was a sense that Jaskeert perhaps had knowledge or was somehow involved in this other brazen shooting at the airport.
From what we've seen over the last few weeks, are these gang members killing gang members, or are we talking innocent bystanders as well?
A: They're targeting other gang members and other people involved in the drug trade. But the shootings have occurred in such public places, in the daylight and busy parks, on sunny days where there are lots of people out and about.
We have had one uninvolved person who was caught in the crossfire in a recent shooting, and was injured but not too seriously, is going to be fine. So that's of course everybody's fear — it's happened before, and they fear it could happen again.
What are Vancouver police saying or doing to try to curb this?
A: Right now they're really following them around everywhere, hoping to prevent the next shooting.
Last week they took the extraordinary step of releasing a poster with 11 photos and names on it, and these people are not wanted by police at this point in time, but they're saying, 'These people are involved in this conflict, and if you see them when you're out and about, you might want to stay away from them.'
So it's controversial. Some of the people on the poster were not happy and have hired lawyers, but the issuing of these posters has only happened maybe three times over 12 years since I've been covering this beat.
You've pointed out the links here in Calgary. Should we expect more of this in the city?
A: Probably most of it will remain here in B.C., but obviously, it should be concerning to everyone that they're willing to travel out of province to carry out another hit in this gang war.
With files from the Calgary Eyeopener