Edmonton Police: 11-Year-Old Boy Intentionally Shot and Killed in Parked Vehicle

A known gang member was tracked down and shot with his 11-year-old son outside an Edmonton fast-food restaurant on Nov. 9, police in the city said.

Acting Supt. Colin Derksen told reporters on Nov. 10 that the boy was not simply caught in the line of fire, but deliberately killed. A second boy around the same age, a friend of the dead child, was also in the car.

“Thankfully, he was not harmed—physically, anyway,” Acting Supt. Derksen said of the boy who escaped.

Acting Supt. Derksen said the lunch-hour shooting at the crowded restaurant and gas station is the latest example of escalating gang violence in the city.

“The landscape has changed out there,” he said. “There’s no longer any respect for children, families or innocent citizens amongst our gangsters when they carry out violence to further their own interests.”

The dead boy’s name was not released, but his father was identified as 41-year-old Harpreet Uppal.

“Mr. Uppal was very well known to us, very high up in the gang drug world,” Acting Supt. Derksen said. “We had worked very hard over the years to try to warn and give him opportunities to step out of that lifestyle and keep him and his family safe.”

Acting Supt. Derksen said a previous attempt had been made on Mr. Uppal’s life two years ago at a pizza restaurant.

Police are investigating possible links between the Nov. 8 shooting and a burned-out SUV found nearby. The vehicle was unoccupied.

Acting Supt. Derksen said gang violence in public places has increased in Edmonton in recent years.

He said officers have responded to 196 shootings so far this year, a 46 percent increase over the same time last year.

While such shootings are almost always gang-related, Acting Supt. Derksen said they are incredibly dangerous for public bystanders.

“We’re lucky we’re not reporting on additional deaths or injuries today.”

He noted that the Nov. 10 shooting happened near a daycare.

Acting Supt. Derksen said no arrests have yet been made.