2 men charged with 1st-degree murder in shooting death of Ripudaman Singh Malik

Two men have been charged with first-degree murder in thetargeted killing of Ripudaman Singh Malik, who was acquitted in the 1985 Air India bombings and shot dead on July 14 in Surrey, B.C.

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) said in a news release Wednesday thecharges have been laidagainst Tanner Fox, 21, and Jose Lopez, 23.

Malik, 75, was shot several times on the morning of July 14 outside his family business, Papillon Eastern Imports, on 128 Street in Surrey.

In an update Wednesday afternoon, IHITsaid the two suspects were arrested in their homes in Abbotsford and New Westministerwithout incident.

Supt.Mandeep Mookersaid the homicide squad worked with Surrey RCMP, the Integrated Forensic Identification Sectionand the B.C. Coroners Service to gather the evidence that led to the arrests.

He said the investigation was also supported by police departments in New Westminster and Abbotsford and the Lower MainlandIntegrated Emergency Response Team.

With the matter now before the courts, hesaid IHIT would not beprovidingany further details.

Family still in shock

Jaspreet Malik, Ripudaman Singh Malik's son,said no one in his family hadheard the names of the men accused before. His family is at a loss to understand why someone would kill his father.

"My father was 75 years old," he said."He was not a young person. He was healthy. He was doing well. But I mean, it doesn't make sense."

The police have not spoken to him aboutmotive, and he said he still believes there is no connection between the Air India bombings and his father's death.

"What I infer from the police telling me there is an ongoing investigation is that there's something more there,'' he said.

"And it may always be an incomplete story," he added. "I trust in the police to do their job."

Maliksays he hopes his family will eventually get answers about his father's death.

"It doesn't help our family to guess."No amount of anything is going tobring my father back.''

Suspects had previous run-ins with the law

Court documents show the two accused had previous criminalrecords.

Lopez was found guilty of assault causing bodily harm for a 2018incident in Abbotsford.

He was charged with seven firearms offences, plus wilfullyresisting an officer and uttering threats for an incident in July
2021 in Kelowna.

Fox's convictions include assault causing bodily harmandrobbery for separate incidents in 2019 in Abbotsford.

He's also accused of wilfully resisting or obstructing a peaceofficer in December 2021.

Fox is scheduled to appear in court in September on an assaultcharge for an alleged April 8 offence in New Westminster.

The BC Prosecution Service says Fox and Lopez appeared in Surreyprovincial court Wednesday, and the matter was adjourned until Aug.10, when a bail hearing is scheduled.

Malik acquitted in 2005

Malik and co-accusedAjaib Singh Bagriwere acquitted in 2005 of mass murder and conspiracy charges related to a pair of bombings targeting Air India flights that killed 331 people, mainly from the Toronto and Vancouver areas.

In recent years, Malik served as chairman of Khalsa School and managed two of the private schools' campuses in Surrey and Vancouver. He was also president of the Surrey-based Khalsa Credit Union, which has more than 16,000 members.