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Riaz Mamdani, CEO of Strategic Group, is seen in this image taken from the company website.

Calgary police are investigating a targeted attack after a prominent real estate developer was injured in a shooting that erupted in a wealthy neighbourhood on Monday.

Riaz Mamdani, chief executive officer of Strategic Group, which owns several residential and commercial buildings in the city, was taken to hospital after multiple shots pierced the windshield of a late-model Rolls Royce he was driving.

Police said Monday he is in serious but stable condition following the incident, and is co-operating with the investigation. An official at Strategic Group said Mr. Mamdani was targeted in an attempted robbery, though police did not cite a specific motive. The company later issued another statement saying it had inadvertently suggested a robbery. It directed further inquiries to police.

"The thoughts and best wishes of the Strategic Group team are with Mr. Mamdani and his family. We wish him a speedy recovery," the company said in a statement.

Related: Alberta real estate developers turn from office space to rental housing

Police said they were called to the scene just after 8 a.m. local time. They found one man injured in a car and took him to hospital. Photos posted on social media showed a black Rolls Royce, with the front-end crumpled and bullet holes in the windshield, sitting on the Mount Royal-district street where the shooting took place. The neighbourhood is known for the expansive homes of some of Calgary's wealthiest citizens.

Calgary police staff sergeant Travis Baker told reporters that several sources reported multiple shots were fired, and that there was at least one other person in Mr. Mamdani's car.

However, he said they are only looking for one suspect, described as wearing an orange jacket. Police are also checking for possible connections between the shooting and a small, white sport-utility vehicle that was found about 14 blocks away on fire.

"It's certainly suspicious that there was a vehicle fire a short distance away," Sgt. Baker said. "The time is pretty consistent with the fact that the shooting occurred then shortly thereafter there was the vehicle fire reported."

He said arson investigators were looking into whether that vehicle was stolen. "It would be a very valid way to destroy evidence, absolutely. That doesn't mean it was connected to the shooting. However, that would be a reasonable way to get rid of evidence, absolutely," he said.

Sgt. Baker would not divulge any specific motives they are investigating, including possible links to Mr. Mamdani's businesses. "If this is business related, we would certainly be exploring those things," he said. "That being said, the investigation is very early on."

Mr. Mamdani is among the defendants listed in a class action lawsuit by investors of Platinum Equities Inc., a now-defunct real estate company that raised as much as $200-million from thousands of small investors to buy commercial buildings in Calgary.

The lawsuit alleges Mr. Mamdani sold several buildings to Platinum in at inflated prices, sometimes providing mortgages for the properties, several of which later fell into disrepair. The lawsuit also alleges that Mr. Mamdani later repurchased some of the buildings for much less when Platinum ran into financial trouble in the years following the 2008 financial crisis.

The $160-million lawsuit was certified by the Alberta courts last year, but defendants have appealed the certification.

Last year, RCMP charged Platinum CEO Srinivasan "Shariff" Chandran with fraud and theft over $5,000 for allegedly misappropriating funds raised from Platinum investors. The Alberta Securities Commission fined Mr. Chandran $1-million in 2014 for illegally raising nearly $60-million from investors. Mr. Mamdani has not faced charges related to Platinum, beyond being named in the class action lawsuit.

In a 2012 interview with Alberta Venture magazine, Mr. Mamdani rejected allegations by investors that he had colluded with Mr. Chandran to defraud Platinum investors.

"It appears to me that we have Platinum that has done a lot of misdeeds and in order to deflect criticism, they are pointing at someone else," he told the magazine. "And that puts me in an awkward position that the investors bring me in. And that's just not the case."

Strategic Group was founded in 2001 and now manages more than $1-billion in assets, according to its web site. It also describes itself as an investment company with interests in technology, oil and gas, telecommunications and construction.

Last year, Calgary Opera's existing location was renamed the Mamdani Opera Centre after Mr. Mamdani purchased the naming rights for three years.

Don R. Campbell, real estate educator and author, provides analysis on the downturn in Calgary’s housing market

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