Toronto: As a cafe owned by Indian comedian Kapil Sharma was targeted by unknown persons in Canada, for the second time within a month, police said the episode had left staff shaken and created a sense of anxiety among other businesses and residents in the area.
Around 4.40 am, on Thursday, Surrey Police Service (SPS) officers responded to a report of “shots fired” at Kaps Cafe.
“Numerous SPS police resources and Delta Police Department units responded and while it appears multiple shots caused damage to the windows and building, fortunately the staff on premises were uninjured,” a release stated.
However, SPS spokesperson Staff Sgt Lindsey Houghton told local media later in the day that staff inside the cafe were “quite understandably shaken” by the incidents, which create a “significant amount of anxiety” for other businesses in the area and residents of apartments on the upper floors of the building, according to the outlet Vancouver Sun.
Houghton also said that what appeared to a Molotov cocktail, an incendiary device, was found at the scene. Surrey Police Service Frontline Investigative Support Team has assumed conduct of the investigation.
The Cafe had reopened after closing briefly after multiple shots were fired at it on July 10, soon after it commenced operations. The shootings occurred in what is largely a residential locality and in fact, there are apartments in the complex where the café is situated.
{{/usCountry}}The Cafe had reopened after closing briefly after multiple shots were fired at it on July 10, soon after it commenced operations. The shootings occurred in what is largely a residential locality and in fact, there are apartments in the complex where the café is situated.
{{/usCountry}}SPS officers reported to the scene at 1:50 am after there were reports of shots fired there. Delta Police Department officers also responded.
Videos of the shootings have circulated online along with claims for the attacks, though none of them can be verified.
But businesses in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, where the Café is located, have been targeted several times allegedly with the purpose of extortion.
On June 11, businessman Satwinder Sharma was shot dead in neighbouring Abbotsford. Meanwhile, Satish Kumar, president of the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir in Surrey, has experienced his businesses being targeted multiple times this year.
Kumar told the outlet Vancouver Sun last month, “My life is on the line. My family’s life is on the line.” In December 2023, the residence where his son and family live in was fired upon.