Hate crime suspected in latest random murder of Sikh man in Canada

A 22-year-old Sikh man was shot dead by a vehicle of white males this week near Edmonton (Alberta, Canada), with the targets of the incident suspecting racism as the motivation of the murder.

The afternoon incident on Highway 2 (14.03.26) saw a pickup truck drive beside Singh’s moving Honda Civic. Two white males then signaled to the group of Sikh men in the car, before letting off a shot which hit Birinder in the neck. After his friends miraculously managed to stop the vehicle on the busy highway, Birinder was taken to hospital and later pronounced dead.

One friend speaking to local media but choosing to stay anonymous said, “Why they are shooting us? Because we did nothing. We didn’t even try to overtake them. We weren’t doing any race, we didn’t do anything. We were just enjoying our own company. Nobody knows. Even though we can think (it’s) due to brown skin, if we can say, because on our perspective, this is the only reason, only possibility. It’s not road rage, nothing like that. Still, we got shot. So we can say that it’s a discrimination.”

Birinder Singh’s friends say police have dashcam footage from his car which will show the vehicle behind the incident. However, they are yet to be given any updates with the investigation. The road at the time was also extremely busy, furthering the possibility of there being lots of witnesses and video evidence which could help find the criminals behind the shooting.

Speaking on the incident, Sikh Press Association Senior Press Officer Jasveer Singh said:

“Canada has a random killer on the loose and the response from authorities and media is lackluster, missing the urgency one would expect in response to such a callous killing. There is no major broadcast for a manhunt or anything akin. It is like they do not feel the concern that the Sikh community does regarding such incidents, possibly because of an unsaid understanding this is a problem only impacting Canadian minorities only, as racism is behind it.

“Nevertheless, Canadian Sikhs will organize and mobilize and demand more clarity than seen in previous instances of random murders of Sikh men, of which there have been at least three in recent years which still leave questions unanswered.”

The random killing of a Sikh man in Canada is becoming a common occurrence in recent years. Whilst police have ruled out a hate crime in such incidents, questions regarding the perceived dispensability of Sikh lives remain. Other examples of the random murders of Sikhs in Canada include:

• Rampreet Singh , Toronto (Ontario), September 2020- Homicide investigating after body of man found near West Humber Trail in Etobicoke – Toronto | Globalnews.ca
• Harmandeep Kaur, Kelowna (BC), February 2022- Man who killed UBC Okanagan security guard gets 15 years, as judge highlights drug-induced psychosis | CBC News
• Kulwinder Sohi, White Rock (BC), April 2024- ‘It’s just without reason’: Friends, community still reeling after White Rock murder | Globalnews.ca
• Jashandeep Singh Maan, Edmonton, September 2024- Family of man killed at downtown Edmonton parkade says he moved to Canada less than 1 year ago – Edmonton | Globalnews.ca
• Harshandeep Singh, Edmonton, December 2024, Security guard killed in Edmonton had only been on the job three days, family spokesperson says | CBC News

Other murders of Sikhs in Canada in the last five-years could also be labelled ‘random’, with suspicion of racism as motivation.

Birinder Singh had only been in Canada two-years from Punjab. Friends said he was working towards starting his own business to “build his life”. A fundraiser to support his family (including costs to fly his body back to Punjab) is being supported by Sikh groups. See- Fatal shooting of man on Alberta highway was random: friends.