VANCOUVER — A former Metro Vancouver gangster was shot to death in Toronto Tuesday afternoon.
Sukh Deo, 34, was inside a white Range Rover when two men started firing at him just before 3 p.m. EDT in an alley near the intersection of Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue.
Toronto police Supt. Reuben Stroble told reporters at the scene that the fatal shooting “is a big surprise for this area, especially at this time of day.”
The luxury vehicle had at least 14 bullet holes visible on the driver’s side window.
Sukh’s uncle, Sohan Deo, said his nephew, who was married with young children, had moved to Toronto a few years ago and was running a trucking company with a friend.
Sukh Deo was well-known to police in the Lower Mainland.
His brother, Harjit, was convicted in a 2005 gangland kidnapping along with others in the Independent Soldiers gang. The kidnap victim had been held in the garage of the Deo family home in New Westminster, where police later arrested several suspects.
Sukh’s father, Parminder, is wanted on an Interpol warrant on drug-smuggling charges laid in India. He said he is innocent.
Sukh Deo was an avid fan of the Toronto Raptors. Last month, he was ejected from his courtside seat at Game 4 of the Raptors’ playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers after heckling the referees.
“All our kids, they watched him on that day,” Sohan Deo said. “He was a really big fan of that team.”
Toronto police said that they’re looking for two men in Sukh Deo’s slaying. They were seen fleeing the area in a black car. Both were wearing construction vests.
In B.C., Sukh Deo had convictions for resisting a police officer, driving while suspended and assault.
