Three foreign nationals have been arrested following a shooting in Surrey's Crescent Beach neighbourhood on Sunday.The incident is believed to be related to the city's ongoing extortion crisis.According to the Surrey Police Service, Project Assurance members were patrolling the area responded to reports of shots fired and a "small fire" outside a home at Crescent Rd. and 132 St. around 3:50 a.m. No injuries were reported.Before long, officers with the SPS, Delta Police Department, and Lower Mainland District Integrated Police Dog Service arrived on scene to assist. Suspects were spotted driving nearby, however they fled on foot upon seeing law enforcement.The trio was eventually tracked down and taken into custody near 28 Ave. and 140 St. after getting into a rideshare vehicle. Harjot Singh, 21, Dayajeet Singh Billing, 21, and Taranveer Singh, 19, were each charged with one count of discharging a firearm into a place contrary to section 244.2(1)(a) of the Criminal Code.SPS's Major Crime Section has since taken over the investigation, and Canada Border Services Agency has been engaged.SPS is asking anyone who has information on this incident, including CCTV or dashcam footage, to contact SPS’s non-emergency number at 604-599-0502 and quote file 26-10642..In January, nearly 40 extortion-related incidents were reported in Surrey, leading city council to unanimously call on the federal government to declare a state of emergency..Surrey city council unanimously calls on feds to declare 'state of emergency' over extortion crisis."Residents and business owners are living in constant fear," Mayor Brenda Locke said. "Public safety is at risk, and the social and economic impact is real. The federal government needs to act now to give authorities the additional tools we need to keep our residents safe."The motion also calls for the appointment of a Commissioner for Extortion Violence Against Canadians to oversee a number of "key measures." Chief among them is the "immediate deployment of additional RCMP, federal organized crime units, and intelligence resources to Surrey."Also on the list are the formation of a joint federal-provincial-municipal task force with "authority to act rapidly," "expedited removal of non-citizens" involved in extortion or firearms offences, a review of the "legislative gaps" in the arrest, charging, and prosecuting of offenders, and a public quarterly progress report.Additionally, Surrey is seeking the expansion of immediate detention and inadmissibility powers under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, financial investigations of extortion crimes, and "the public release of information that identifies individuals charged with or deported for extortion-related offences to increase public awareness and deterrence."
