Surrey has marked its 21st murder of the year, meeting an all-time high for homicides in the city.
The most homicides in the city previously recorded in a single year was in 2005, when they also numbered 21.
On Saturday, at 11:15 p.m., ambulance crews were called to a home in the 2600-block King George Boulevard for a man in medical distress.
They found a man in his 40s, whose injuries were considered suspicious, and they reported it to police.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) has taken custody of the investigation.
"Although we are in the initial stages of the investigation, we can state at this time, this was a targeted home invasion," said IHIT Sgt. Adam MacIntosh.
MacIntosh said no one has been charged, but that police are interviewing people "currently in custody."
MacIntosh said the victim is known to them, and that drugs are being looked at as possible motive. The home was the scene of a front-yard brawl earlier this year.
"This was not something random," MacIntosh said. "Surrey RCMP have been here before and are familiar with our deceased male.
"There are some people that are currently in custody that we are speaking with.
Police are seeking to notify the victim's next of kin before naming him.
On Sept. 1, a man and a woman were taken to hospital after a fight broke out outside the home. RCMP said the earlier incident was not a drug case "but more of potentially an assault or weapons-related investigation." The situation closed King George Boulevard for several hours, and several people were taken into custody.
Emergency crews returned Sept. 20, when a number of RCMP vehicles and an ambulance were parked in front of the house. A passerby – who said she lived nearby – said one man was escorted from the house and was placed on stretcher and loaded into the ambulance.
Investigators are asking anyone with information or who saw anything suspicious in the area to contact the IHIT tip line by calling 1-877-551-IHIT (4448) or by email at ihittipline@rcmp-grc.gc.ca. If you wish to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or leave a tip on their website at Solvecrime.ca
A year – so far – of homicides in Surrey:
• Jan. 13
Manjot Dhillon is shot dead near 76 Avenue and 168 Street.
• Jan. 13
John McGivern and Geordie Carlow are found shot to death in a parkade near 128 Street and 94 Avenue.
• Jan. 15
Manjinder Singh Hairan and Jujhar Singh Khun-Khun, two associates of the Dhak-Dhure gang, are gunned down in Bridgeview. Hairan is killed and Khun-Khun survives.
• Jan. 28
The body of Jaskaran Singh Sandhu is found on Colebrook Road, near 123 Street.
• Feb. 15
Janice Shore, who was found badly beaten in a vacant lot in Whalley in January, succumbs to her injuries.
• Feb. 20
Vimal Chand is found dead in his car near Hyland Elementary School. He had been reported missing four days earlier.
• Feb. 24
A burned body is found near 121 Street and Colebrook Road. Police later identifiy the remains as that of 26-year-old Jaskaran Singh Sandhu.
• March 13
At 2 a.m., police on patrol find the body of 54-year-old Brett Sheldon Lietz at 125A Street and Colebrook Road. A wider search with police dogs also turns up the body of 40-year-old Nicole Madelynn Brochu.
• March 18
Jackie Olson is found with stab wounds at a duplex at 13049 103 Ave. Olson dies at the scene.
• April 24
Craig Widdifield, 28, is killed in a brazen daylight shooting in the 15700-block of Croydon Drive.
• June 19
Police find the bodies of married couple 49-year-old Dilber Singh Atwal and 30-year-old Gurpreet Kaur Atwal. It is an apparent murder-suicide.
• July 7
Scott Ashley McMillan, 55, is beaten at an unknown location before coming home and dying.
• Aug. 16
At about 1 a.m.,
Police find two men, aged 17 and 22, suffering from stab wounds after a fight breaks out at the intersection of 154 Street and 100 Avenue. The 22-year-old succumbs to his injuries in hospital.
• Sept. 17
Police say a man is intentionally killed by a driver who runs him down in North Surrey. Several other people were narrowly missed, witnesses say.
• Sept. 18
A jogger finds a body in a park at 123 Street and New McLellan Road. It is 30-year-old Ezar Ahmed Khan.
• Sept. 20
A man is found dead in an apparent domestic homicide near 82 Avenue and 145 Street. A suspect is arrested at the airport later in the evening.
• Oct. 25
Surrey RCMP and paramedics find 35-year-old Satwant Singh Bains dead inside his vehicle at 156 Street and 86 Avenue. Neighbours report hearing three gunshots and a car speeding away.
• Oct. 31
Lisa Ann Zielke, 41, is found dead near the Surrey-Langley border. Police say she was living a high-risk lifestyle.
• Nov. 9
A home invasion turns into a murder, as police respond to a call for a person injured and find a man in his 40s who has been killed in the 2600-block of King George Boulevard.
~with files from Tracy Holmes