Shots fired at Kapil Sharma’s cafe in Canada, second time in a month

This cafe had recently reopened after repairs were carried out following a July 10 attack when the windows and the walls of the eatery, co-owned by Sharma’s wife Ginni Chatrath, were hit by at least eight bullets.

A post on social media, purportedly by a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, claimed responsibility for the latest attack “We called him but he did not hear the ring so action had to be taken. Now, if he does not hear, then the next action will be taken in Mumbai,” read the post in Hindi.

The incident follows a July 10 shooting at the same café, for which Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) operative Harjit Singh Laddi, one of India’s most wanted fugitives, had claimed responsibility via a social media post. Along with another individual identified as Toofan Singh, Laddi cited alleged derogatory remarks made by Sharma about Nihang Sikhs as the motive.

The café, which was thrown open in the first week of July, was hit by at least six bullets Thursday morning. Shattered glass and damaged windows bore evidence of the attack as Surrey Police arrived on the scene to begin their investigation.

CityNews Vancouver, reported the Surrey Police Service (SPS) as saying that officers were called to the scene around 4:40 am. Michelle Gaucher, who lives in the neighbourhood, said she was jolted awake on hearing ghunshots. “At 4:35 a.m., we were woken up to eight gunshots — it was not fireworks,” she said. “I got up with the dogs and could hear sirens in the area. It was the same distance from where Kap’s Café was shot up a couple of weeks ago. When I drove by, the area was closed off for about a block, and emergency vehicles were there.”

“I heard five or six shots from my patio,” said Bob Singh, who also lives nearby and called a local radio station moments after the incident. “Then the cops came.”

Sharma had reopened the cafe on July 20 with an announcement on Instagram that said, “The lights are on, the coffee is warm and our hearts are full.”

The latest shooting comes amid growing reports of extortion threats targeting South Asian businesses in Surrey, a trend that authorities are now grappling with both offline and online.

The attack has also reignited concerns over the spread of criminal content online, with Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke calling on major social media platforms—Meta, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok—to clamp down on violent and terror-linked content.

A day after the July 10 attack, Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke had visited Kap’s Cafe and called it an act of violence designed to instil fear in the local community. Locke had said, “That fear is real. I felt it first-hand last night while visiting Kap’s Café and speaking with nearby employees and customers.”.

Locke had urged tech companies to permanently ban accounts that glorified violent crime, as well as introduce real-time detection and takedown tools to prevent the amplification of such acts.

“These steps are neither optional nor aspirational; they are essential,” she said. “Social media has become a microphone for criminal groups to intimidate and recruit. Keeping Surrey safe demands a partnership between residents, businesses, law enforcement, and the platforms shaping our digital public square.”