Homicide investigators are in Surrey on Monday after two teenagers were shot dead in a Newton-area underground parking lot Sunday night.
The Surrey Police Service says it responded to reports of a shooting on 133B Street near Unwin Park around 10 p.m.
Officers found an 18-year-old and a 16-year-old suffering from gunshot wounds and tried to help them until paramedics arrived.
Police add that the two victims were residents of the City of Surrey and were known to police regarding connections to organized crime.
“The males were both pronounced deceased on scene,” said a police statement Monday.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT), the Integrated Forensic Identification Services, and the BC Coroner Service have since taken over the investigation.
While the SPS says that it has made no arrest yet and that the motive is still under investigation, IHIT suspects that more than one individual must have been involved in the crime.
In an update later on Monday, IHIT’s media relations officer, Sgt. Frida Fong says that an early Sunday morning vehicle fire, reported nearby on 144 Street and 84 Avenue at the time, is likely related to the shooting.
“Investigators recovered a burnt grey four-door sedan believed to be involved in the homicide and are actively working to identify the occupants who fled the scene,” she said.
Since the SPS is running the investigation into the earlier shooting, IHIT and Surrey police are cooperating and sharing their findings.
“We have to look at it in the grand scheme of things and the bigger picture, so we are sharing information to see if there is a connection,” Fong said.
“This shooting does have the hallmarks of a targeted shooting, meaning there are some organization in terms of carrying out the shooting, as well as the burned vehicle after. So, we are definitely looking into two or more individuals.”
Fong adds that while the motive is still under investigation, the incidents are believed to be targeted and related to the B.C. gang conflict. Potential connections to other recent shootings in the area will be taken into account as well.
Investigators are now working with the teenagers’ grieving families to determine their activities leading up to the shooting.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the IHIT information line at 1-877-551-IHIT (4448) or by email at [email protected].
Surrey Mayor questioning Gang Task Force resource reallocation
In a press conference on Monday, Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke says that she is “angry, outraged, saddened” by the death of the underage victims, which, according to her, is the fifth death within a few weeks in the city.
In light of those deaths, she expressed concerns that the Surrey Police Board has just recently disbanded the Gang Task Force.
“I sent a letter today to the head of the Surrey Police Board (SPB), asking him why the SPS Chief Constable Norm Lipinski would have done that in the City of Surrey when this issue has not only been in Surrey but regionally, an issue we have dealt with for over two decades,” Locke said in front of reporters.
“So it concerns me deeply that the chief decided to take that action at this time.”
She adds that Lipinski has never explained to her those actions.
Locke says that her administration is working closely with the SPS to provide law enforcement with more resources, highlighting the $250,000 extortion reward and additional traffic cameras.
When asked if she has confidence in Lipinski and if the time has come for a change in police leadership, Locke says that she is “not involved in operational issues at all,” and that “it is up to them [SPB] to make those decisions.”
SPS Chief Lipinski defending task force actions
Meanwhile, Lipinski says in a written statement that the “recent shootings in Surrey are deeply concerning.”
In his statement, he defended his decisions regarding the task force, saying it was necessary to support the police’s response to the extortion crisis.
“SPS temporarily repurposed the eight-person Gang Crime Unit to support a citywide response to an unprecedented extortion crisis and, later, to meet accelerated transition timelines. This decision was made to address immediate and serious public safety risks, not to diminish gang enforcement.”
He assured the public that the SPS is still engaged in gang-related policing, admitting that the focus, however, has shifted to extortion gangs.
While it seems that extortion threats have moved resources away from other policing operations, Lipinski is offering a silver lining for the next month.
“As staffing capacity improves, our plan is clear. The Gang Crime Unit will begin returning to its regular duties in mid‑June, when our next class of experienced officers is deployed, and operational capacity is strengthened. This approach ensures continuity in both frontline response and specialized investigations,” he said.
Police respond to a double shooting in Surrey’s Newton neighbourhood on May 10, 2026. (CityNews image, 1st Due Media)
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