A vehicle associated with a Punjabi concert tour came under fire in a drive-by shooting in Canada’s Abbotsford, British Columbia, prompting conflicting claims over whether the artiste Ammy Virk was among those targeted.
The artiste’s family has denied reports suggesting that he was caught in the shooting. Virk’s father, Kuljit Singh, said the singer and his family were safe, according to NDTV. He clarified that his son had not been fired upon, claiming that the attack was aimed at the convoy belonging to the organisers of the show, the report noted.
Singh, while speaking from Lohar Majra village in , said has no disputes or conflicts with anyone, as per Hindustan Times.
Initial reports from Canadian media and other sources, however, said Virk was travelling in the bulletproof vehicle that was targeted, along with the show’s promoter. The promoter’s father owns a Punjabi radio station based in Surrey, which had also reportedly been targeted in a similar shooting earlier.
Ammy Virk performed at Rogers Forum in on September 5, with the shooting reportedly taking place later that night as he was leaving the venue.
Abbotsford Police said a vehicle travelling through the 2500 block of McCallum Road was targeted shortly after 11 pm on September 5.
“It was shot at by occupants of another vehicle. Preliminary information indicates that individuals in a dark-coloured SUV fired multiple shots at the victim vehicle,” the Abbotsford Police wrote in a post on X.
The police said nobody was injured in the shooting.
“Shortly after the shooting, AbbyPD officers responded to a report of a vehicle fire in the 2400 block of Sunnyside Place. Upon arrival, officers found an fully engulfed in flames. The AbbyPD Major Crime Unit has assumed conduct of the investigation and is working to determine the motive for the shooting and whether the vehicle fire is connected to the incident,” the police further said.
Police have not established a link between the two incidents.
Ammy Virk, 34, is an Indian singer, actor and producer who has established himself in the Punjabi music industry. Born on May 11, 1992, in Lohar Majra village of Nabha in Patiala, he pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in Biotechnology from Punjabi University.
Virk made his acting debut as Hakam in the 2015 Punjabi historical romance film Angrej. He later established the production house Villagers Film Studio and the distribution company In House Group in 2017.
In an interview with The Tribune, Virk credited his mother for encouraging him to pursue singing, saying, “It was my mother who told me that I should try singing. I have learned it. I am a singer because of my mother and I love her for having faith in me.”
