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The victims are Jivan Saepan, 22, and Kevin Alaraj, 23. Both are known to the police.
Police at the scene of a shooting at the 7,000-block Ackroyd Road in Richmond on Saturday morning. Photo by Clayton Burns
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Two men shot dead in Richmond over the weekend were linked to the Guardians Brothers gang, but switched to contact people from other gangs in the Lower Continent, Postmedia has learned.
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The integrated homicide investigation team revealed the names of the two men – Giovan Saepan, 22, and Kevin Alaraj, 23 – and said both were known to police.
IHIT Media Officer Sergeant. David Lee also said homicide detectives were consulting with BC’s gang-fighting agency, the Combined Special Forces Implementation Unit, for more information on Saepan and Allaraj.
Both were shot dead around 11:03 a.m. Saturday in the park of an apartment building in block 7,000 on Ackroyd Road. Postmedia learned that they were attracted to the place.
The couple was linked to Ikubal Greval, who was just 23 when he was shot dead in the middle of a block on East 64th Avenue between Knight and Inverness streets on September 16, 2020. Like his friends, Greual was linked to BK but changed loyalty to the UN gang.
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A BK rapper later released a song that appears to take responsibility for Grewal’s murder, although no one has been charged.
While the last victims of the gang war in the region were linked to the UN, they were also known as freelancers working with other gangs.
Alaraj had no criminal record in British Columbia. He claims in a civil lawsuit for a car accident in 2018 that he was a construction worker. Last February, Saepan was sentenced to five months in prison and 18 months probation for assault with a weapon and use of imitation firearms in connection with crime in three cities on December 11, 2018.
Jivan Saepan, 22, was one of two men shot dead on June 4 in Richmond. (Photo: IHIT) jpg 23-year-old Kevin Alaraj was one of two men shot dead on June 4, 2022 in Richmond. (Photo: IHIT) jpg
Police then said Saepan robbed a Surrey driver’s vehicle, then collided with a police cruiser in Burnaby and then fired a gun at another vehicle in Coquitlam. He was also convicted of theft and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and was given a suspended sentence.
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Lee said both men were found with gunshot wounds at the scene where they succumbed to their injuries.
And he said a burned-out suspect vehicle was found less than 30 minutes later in 114th Street and 96A Avenue in Surrey.
“Detectives believe the fire was linked to the shooting. “In order to speed up the investigation and identify witnesses, the names of the victims are being released,” Lee said. “Initial information shows that this is a targeted incident involving gangs.
A vehicle used in the May 9, 2021, assassination of UN gangster Carman Greval outside Vancouver International Airport was found less than one block from the site of Saturday’s shooting. The suspects in the high-profile assassination – who are not charged – are believed to be from the Guardians Brothers gang.
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Lee said investigators are still looking for witnesses and videos of the Richmond and Surrey crime scenes.
“It was a brazen shooting in the park at noon,” he said. “This shows a neglect of greater public safety and that criminal activities are crossing the city limits.
Anyone with information is asked to contact IHIT at 1-877-551-4448 or ihitinfo@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.
While the gang conflict in the Lower Continent has witnessed gun violence between BK, the UN and other middle-level groups, the CFSEU sergeant. Brenda Winpeney said on Tuesday that it was too early to attribute the motive to the double murder.
“As long as the victims of this murder are known to us, it is too early to say with any certainty what happened here. We are working with IHIT, evaluating and monitoring, and will continue to work with the best available intelligence to help advance this investigation. “
kbolan@postmedia.com
twitter.com/kbolan
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