B.C. teenager killed in gang conflict remembered as kind, compassionate

A teenager who was shot and killed this week in Surrey is being remembered as a kind and compassionate young man.

An 18-year-old who was shot and killed this week in Surrey, B.C., is being remembered by one of his mentors as a kind and empathetic young man.

Kal Dosanjh, the founder of KidsPlay Youth Foundation, an organization that works to steer people away from gang life, said the teenager could have been a remarkable leader.

“He possessed a tremendous amount of compassion,” Dosanjh said.

CTV News is not identifying the teenager, who was gunned down Sunday evening at a residential complex along with another victim who was only 16.

The Surrey Police Service said officers were called to reports of gunfire inside an underground parkade in the 7000 block of 133B Street shortly after 10 p.m.

When police arrived, they found two people suffering from gunshot wounds. They both died at the scene despite life-saving efforts.https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/2-men-dead-after-shooting-in-underground-parkade-in-surrey-bc/

Dosanjh said he was “heartbroken” upon hearing the news.

“I in particular had a close relationship with him as a mentor. I know what he had been through and what it took for him to try to change his life,” he said.

Dosanjh said the boy’s mother called him three years ago to ask for help, as she felt her son was heading down the wrong path.

During his time with KidsPlay, many of the children grew to admire the teen, Dosanjh said, especially when he spent time as a summer camp coach.

“He picked up a little girl, put her on his shoulders, and he ran around with her playing soccer with the other kids,” he said.

“The kids were so happy around him, but it also demonstrated his innocence—that at the end of the day, he was just a kid.”

Dosanjh said the young man was exploited in B.C.’s gang conflict,

“Those dealers will do anything within their power to recruit young kids that are impressionable, vulnerable, and easily malleable,” he said.

“For them, it’s just another statistic. They don’t humanize these kids at all.”

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team has taken over the case. So far, no suspects have been identified.