BURST
A Surrey woman who was shot at her home over the weekend is the first person to be caught in the line of fire in a rash of extortion-related shootings plaguing the city, police said Tuesday.
The shooting, which targeted the right side of a duplex from the front, happened Sunday at around 2:45 a.m. in the 13000-block of 103A Avenue.
The woman was hit in the torso while she was inside the home. On Tuesday, seven bullet holes — surrounded by yellow, police evidence markers — were still visible on the exterior of the home. Two bullets pierced through a window on the lower floor.
A man who answered the door said everyone who lived in the house was “shocked and traumatized by everything that happened” but declined to say more.
Police said the shooter, or shooters, arrived and left in a vehicle. Police do not have a description of the vehicle.
Surrey police Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton confirmed Tuesday that the shooting was being investigated as extortion-related. He said investigators do not believe the woman who was shot, or any of the others who were inside the home at the time, were the intended targets.
Property records indicate the home is owned by two companies: A. Goyal Investment Inc. and a numbered company, 1378005 B.C. Ltd. Postmedia was unable to reach the directors of either company to ask if they had received extortion threats.
The victim, who was initially said to be in critical condition, remains in serious but stable condition, authorities said.
Police confirmed Tuesday 35 out of 65 extortion cases in the city this year have involved shootings.
The cases have typically involved extortionists calling South Asian Canadian business owners demanding a large sum of money. When the victim says they cannot or will not pay, their home or business has been targeted with gunfire. Before Sunday’s shooting, no injuries had been reported in any of the earlier extortion-related shootings.
Police said they could not say what types of firearms have been used in the shootings.
Anyone with information about Sunday’s incident, or who may have been in the area of 13000-block of 103A Avenue between 2:30 and 3 a.m. and witnessed the shots fired or suspicious activity, or has security or dashcam footage, is asked to contact the SPS non-emergency line at 604-599-0502.