TORONTO (Diya TV) — A man shot dead in midtown Toronto has been identified as the Toronto Raptors fan who was ejected from his courtside seat at the Air Canada Center for heckling referees during a game of the Eastern Conference finals last month.
On Tuesday afternoon, Sukh Deo was found shot dead inside of his Range Rover SUV in an alley. The white sport-utility vehicle had at least 14 bullet holes in the driver’s window, according to the Toronto Sun.
Deo moved to Toronto from British Columbia a few years ago to start a trucking company with a friend, his uncle told the Sun. However, authorities in British Columbia said Deo was the subject of at least one ongoing investigation and had previous convictions for resisting a police officer, driving with a suspended license and assault. His father, Parminder, is wanted by Interpol on charges of smuggling drugs to India. His brother, Harjit, was convicted in 2005 of gang kidnapping.
Deo’s uncle said he and his father were watching Game 4 of the series when his nephew was ejected.
“All our kids, they watched him on that day,” Sohan Deo told the Sun. “He was a really big fan of that team. He always goes to watch the games.”
Police are saying the shooting was a “targeted” action, adding that two suspects were seen fleeing the area. No description of the suspects have been provided other than that they were wearing construction vests and fled the scene in a 2001 to 2003 black Honda Civic.
“This was absolutely a targeted shooting,” Homicide Det.-Sgt. Joyce Schertzer told reporters at a news conference Thursday.
“I can tell you that he wasn’t a member of this community, it wasn’t a random shooting, it was targeted.”
Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton, with the B.C. Combined Forces Special Enforcement said Deo was aligned with several people in leadership positions of the notorious B.C. gang, which extends into the “shell company” criminal organization known as the Wolf Pack.
“People who would self identify as being a part of the Wolf Pack even though they may belong to other gangs such as the Hells Angels, do have a presence in Ontario, they have a presence almost entirely across Canada,” Houghton said.
“If history tells us anything, especially here in British Columbia, when we have individuals — no matter where they are placed on the gang hierarchy if you will — any time one of them is a victim of violence, whether its murder or attempt on their life, in the past 10 years we’ve seen tit for tat reprisals.”
“I can tell you that he was known to police. All I can say is he had no prior contact with the Toronto Police Service, but that he was known to the police,” Schertzer said in response to questions about Deo’s gang affiliations.
“At this time and point in the investigation this is all that I’m prepared to release to the public and I understand that we’re operating in somewhat of a vacuum but I would really like and appreciate information on this vehicle.”
