Based on coverage from CBC, Global News, The Tribune, and Calgary Herald.
Two homes in northeast Calgary were shot at in separate overnight incidents this week, and police believe both may be tied to a wave of extortion attempts targeting the city’s South Asian community.
No one was injured in either shooting. Calgary police say they are still working out whether the same people were behind both attacks, but the timing and broader pattern of recent cases have investigators treating them as potentially connected.
Northeast Calgary shootings under investigation
Calgary Police Service (CPS) says the first shooting happened Sunday around 2:45 a.m. in the 8400 block of Saddleridge Drive N.E. Police say two people fired several shots into a home, then fled in a white sedan.
The second shooting happened Monday at about 12:10 a.m. in the 300 block of Savanna Park N.E. Police say one person fired several shots into another home and ran from the scene on foot.
Deputy Chief Asif Rashid told reporters Monday that investigators don’t yet know if the offenders in the two cases are linked.
Calgary extortion cases targeting South Asian community
Police say the two shootings fit into a larger pattern of extortion and attempted extortion focused on members of Calgary’s South Asian community.
CPS reports 28 extortion-related incidents in the city since the start of 2025, including 13 shootings. Rashid described the approach as “fear-based tactics,” with demands “predominantly” for cash, often “large sums” that many people wouldn’t realistically have on hand.
“We should all be concerned whenever there’s gunfire in the streets,” Rashid said at the police briefing.
What police say about reporting and stigma
Rashid also suggested these cases can be underreported or delayed because victims may fear backlash. He said police often see a gap between the initial threat and any later violence, and that fear of reprisal, stigma, or “taboo” can make people hesitant to come forward.
He confirmed that one person believed to have been targeted in one of the weekend shootings had previously made “several reports of extortion” to police. Rashid said CPS had worked through a “robust safety planning process” with that person and their family, but added it was “unfortunate” the shooting happened even with a suppression plan in place.
ALERT joins Calgary police response
CPS says it is working with Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) on the investigations.
Rashid said residents in the affected areas should expect increased police presence, particularly in the evening and overnight hours, which police describe as the times when the communities have been “most vulnerable.” He said police have been running “proactive overt patrols” and a nightly “suppression and disruption plan” in recent weeks.
Social media claims and what’s confirmed
One report identifies the Savanna Park home as belonging to a Punjabi-origin man, Lovjeet Sandhu, and says a video circulating online appears to show shots being fired at the residence.
That same report says a social media post allegedly linked to Aarzoo Bishnoi circulated claiming responsibility and referencing people said to be connected to the Lawrence Bishnoi group. CBC News reported police have not confirmed any connection to those claims and that more forensic work is needed before linking online posts to the shooting.
For now, police are treating the weekend shootings as part of an ongoing extortion-related series and are asking anyone with information about the incidents or related threats to contact Calgary police. Anonymous tips can also be submitted through Crime Stoppers.
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