Two men have been charged with first-degree murder in the targeted killing of Ripudaman Singh Malik, who was acquitted in the 1985 Air India bombings and shot to death on July 14 in Surrey, BC.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) said in a news release Wednesday that charges have been filed against 21-year-old Tanner Fox and 23-year-old Jose Lopez.
IHIT will hold a press conference at 3:00 PM PT.
Malik, 75, was shot multiple times in the early morning hours of July 14 outside his family business, Papillon Eastern Imports, on 128th Street in Surrey.
Court documents show that both Fox and Lopez had prior criminal records.
Lopez was found guilty of assault causing bodily harm for a 2018 incident in Abbotsford.
He was charged with seven firearms offenses as well as willfully resisting an officer and uttering threats for a July 2021 incident in Kelowna.
Fox’s convictions include assault occasioning bodily harm and robbery for separate incidents in 2019 in Abbotsford.
He is also charged with willfully resisting or obstructing a peace officer in December 2021.
Fox is scheduled to appear in court in September on an assault charge stemming from an alleged April 8 crime in New Westminster.
The BC Prosecution Service says Fox and Lopez appeared in Surrey Provincial Court on Wednesday and the matter was adjourned until August 10, when a bail hearing is scheduled.
Malik was acquitted in 2005
Malik and co-accused Ajaib Singh Bagri were acquitted in 2005 of mass murder and conspiracy charges related to a pair of bombings on Air India flights that killed 331 people, mostly from the Toronto and Vancouver areas.
In recent years, Malik served as president of the Khalsa School and managed two of the private school’s campuses in Surrey and Vancouver. He was also chairman of Surrey-based Khalsa Credit Union, which has more than 16,000 members.