Police officers attend the scene of a shooting outside of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib temple, in Surrey, B.C., on June 19.Jennifer Gauthier/The Canadian Press
Homicide investigators in Surrey, B.C., said the killers of a Sikh temple leader likely escaped in a vehicle that had been waiting for at least an hour a few blocks away from the crime scene.
Sergeant Timothy Pierotti said Wednesday that police are urging residents near Surrey’s Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara to check their vehicles’ dash cameras for possible video of either the suspects or the getaway car in the shooting death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
“Vehicles such as Teslas have excellent cameras that are capable of recording movements in their surrounding area, even if the vehicle is turned off and no one is inside the vehicle,” Sgt. Pierotti said.
“We believe that not only may the occupants of these vehicles have been witnesses to the homicide of Mr. Nijjar, but the vehicle itself may have recorded critical evidence that could help advance our investigation.”
B.C.’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team describes the two suspects in the shooting as heavier-set males who were wearing face coverings.
Sgt. Pierotti told a news conference that after shooting Nijjar outside the temple, the men are believed to have escaped on foot through a nearby park where they met an awaiting vehicle on the other side.
Mr. Nijjar’s killing took place around 8:30 p.m. Sunday.
Sgt. Pierotti said investigators have no reason to believe the Sikh community is at risk because the shooting of Mr. Nijjar was targeted.
“There have been rumours circulating indicating two men were arrested in relation to this murder. I can confirm that at this time, no arrests have been made,” he said.
Police say Mr. Nijjar was shot dead as he was leaving the car park of the gurdwara where he served as president.
They say the 45-year-old suffered multiple gunshot wounds inside his vehicle and died at the scene.
Mr. Nijjar had been organizing an unofficial Khalistan referendum on a separate Sikh state in India.
His lawyer, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, has said Mr. Nijjar’s safety had been threatened after a reward was offered by the Indian government for his arrest.
The reward of one million rupees, worth about $16,000, was offered last July by India’s National Investigation Agency, the country’s counterterrorism body.
The agency published Mr. Nijjar’s home address in Surrey and referred to him as a “fugitive terrorist,” saying he led a conspiracy to murder a Hindu priest in India.
Mr. Pannun said he spoke to Mr. Nijjar by phone the day before the killing, and Mr. Nijjar said the Canadian Security Intelligence Service had warned that his life was in danger.
The lawyer denied that Mr. Nijjar was involved in any criminal or violent activity.
Sgt. Pierotti said homicide investigators are speaking with several law-enforcement “partners” but did not identify those agencies.
He also said he is not aware of any other person in the community that has been warned about potentially being at risk, but that investigators would not be able to confirm such a fact even if there were warnings to community members.