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source: Husband, 66, charged in triple shooting
Husband, 66, charged in triple shooting
Critically wounded woman, her slain teenage boys had arrived from India last fall
By Kimberly Shearon and Cheryl Chan, The Province - June 23, 2009
The man arrested in connection with a double slaying Sunday in a Surrey townhouse has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
Charged is Mahendra Singh Johal, also known as Mahendra Singh, 66.
At 11 a.m., police responded to a 911 call reporting gunshots. Upon arriving at Johal's townhouse at 64th Avenue and 126th Street, they found the bodies of two teenage boys -- brothers Amarjit Gill, 17, and Ranjit Gill, 15, also known as Raman.
The 35-year-old mother of the teenagers, known as Sukwinder, was found suffering from life-threatening injuries and remains in critical but stable condition in hospital.
Johal and the woman were married, according to police.
J. S. Beesla, who lives in the unit next door, said the woman and her two sons moved into Johal's townhouse in September.
Beesla said the family kept mostly to itself, but he noted that Johal and his wife seemed to live very separate lives.
"We never ever saw them out together," he said.
Neighbours had been told conflicting reports about the nature of the relationship between the couple, Beesla said.
Johal referred to the woman, whom he had sponsored to come to Canada, as his wife -- his third -- while she referred to Johal as her uncle, Beesla said.
The boys attended Tamanawis Secondary School, just a block away. Amarjit was in Grade 10; his brother was in Grade 8.
They had been adjusting well to their new life in Canada, said Amarjit's classmate, Niven Bramar.
Arjun Shukla, who knew both boys, said they liked Canada.
Raman was into soccer and basketball, he said, and would regularly play with neighbourhood kids at the park across the townhouse complex.
Arjun had been to their house and remembered meeting the man the boys called "uncle."
"He was nice. He was very quiet," recalled Arjun.
But neighbour Balvinder Plaha, who knew the man as Sukwinder's uncle, said the woman had hinted of trouble at home.
"She did not get into detail, but said that the uncle was 'not good,' " Plaha said. "I was worried for her."
The school is providing counselling for affected students, said Doug Strachan, spokesman for the Surrey school district.
The Indo-Canadian community has been shaken by news of the double homicide, said Radio India personality Gurpreet Singh.
"I was at a party [Sunday] night and it was all people were talking about," Singh said, adding he has received many calls from concerned listeners.
kshearon@theprovince.com
chchan@theprovince.com
© Copyright (c) The Province
**************************************************************
Husband, 66, charged in triple shooting
Critically wounded woman, her slain teenage boys had arrived from India last fall
By Kimberly Shearon and Cheryl Chan, The Province - June 23, 2009
The man arrested in connection with a double slaying Sunday in a Surrey townhouse has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
Charged is Mahendra Singh Johal, also known as Mahendra Singh, 66.
At 11 a.m., police responded to a 911 call reporting gunshots. Upon arriving at Johal's townhouse at 64th Avenue and 126th Street, they found the bodies of two teenage boys -- brothers Amarjit Gill, 17, and Ranjit Gill, 15, also known as Raman.
The 35-year-old mother of the teenagers, known as Sukwinder, was found suffering from life-threatening injuries and remains in critical but stable condition in hospital.
Johal and the woman were married, according to police.
J. S. Beesla, who lives in the unit next door, said the woman and her two sons moved into Johal's townhouse in September.
Beesla said the family kept mostly to itself, but he noted that Johal and his wife seemed to live very separate lives.
"We never ever saw them out together," he said.
Neighbours had been told conflicting reports about the nature of the relationship between the couple, Beesla said.
Johal referred to the woman, whom he had sponsored to come to Canada, as his wife -- his third -- while she referred to Johal as her uncle, Beesla said.
The boys attended Tamanawis Secondary School, just a block away. Amarjit was in Grade 10; his brother was in Grade 8.
They had been adjusting well to their new life in Canada, said Amarjit's classmate, Niven Bramar.
Arjun Shukla, who knew both boys, said they liked Canada.
Raman was into soccer and basketball, he said, and would regularly play with neighbourhood kids at the park across the townhouse complex.
Arjun had been to their house and remembered meeting the man the boys called "uncle."
"He was nice. He was very quiet," recalled Arjun.
But neighbour Balvinder Plaha, who knew the man as Sukwinder's uncle, said the woman had hinted of trouble at home.
"She did not get into detail, but said that the uncle was 'not good,' " Plaha said. "I was worried for her."
The school is providing counselling for affected students, said Doug Strachan, spokesman for the Surrey school district.
The Indo-Canadian community has been shaken by news of the double homicide, said Radio India personality Gurpreet Singh.
"I was at a party [Sunday] night and it was all people were talking about," Singh said, adding he has received many calls from concerned listeners.
kshearon@theprovince.com
chchan@theprovince.com
© Copyright (c) The Province
**************************************************************