An Edmonton businessman, Buta Singh Gill, owner of Gill Built Homes Ltd. and president of an Edmonton Gurdwara was shot to death this week at a construction site.
According to police two other men were also found at the scene of the crime along with Gill.
In a press release, Edmonton police said at approximately 12:00 p.m., on Monday, Apr. 8, 2024, Southwest Branch patrol officers responded to the report of a shooting in the area of Cavanagh Boulevard SW and Cherniak Way SW.
Upon arrival, officers located three men with significant injuries. EMS responded and declared two of the men, a 49-year-old and a 56-year-old, deceased on scene and transported a 51-year-old male man to hospital with serious, life-threatening injuries. The man remains in hospital.
Wednesday, Apr. 10, 2024, the Edmonton Medical Examiner completed an autopsy on the 49-year-old man and determined his cause of death to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The police said they will not be releasing his name as his manner of death is deemed non-criminal in nature. “No charges will be laid in relation to the homicide as the suspect is deceased. Homicide detectives are not seeking any additional suspects,”
Investigators however are looking into whether this incident has any connection to Project Gaslight, an extortion series targeting home builders from South Asian communities.
Anyone with any information about this or any other crime is asked to contact the EPS at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.p3tips.com/250.
He is survived by his wife and two adult children.
In an interview Bobby Gill said the family remains in shock about the violence of his oldest brother’s death. He does not believe the family will ever have answers about what could have motivated the shooting. “He was the best brother I could ever imagine,” Gill said in an interview with CBC Edmonton. “Today is a sad day. We didn’t want to be here today.”
Gill said his brother was an honest man, dedicated to his family. He was known for his generosity and for helping others in Edmonton’s Punjabi community.
Former Edmonton city councillor and former EPS member Mohinder Banga said he came to the site of the incident after hearing Gill had been killed in the shooting, CTV News Edmonton reported.
Mohinder Banga said, “He was such a nice person, and he would jump in to help people whenever they needed help and without looking for anything in return. That was his quality.” He added, “Obviously, you can see all the people here, they’re all well-wishers and the community is in shock right now.”
