South Asian community shocked following Cavanagh shooting

Edmonton’s South Asian community is shocked following a brazen daytime shooting Monday afternoon — where two people died including a well-known Edmontonian on this construction worksite.

Buta Singh Gill, the owner of Gill Built Homes, has been identified as one of the victims. 

“We lost an important part of this community,” said Moe Banga, former Edmonton City Councillor and former EPS Detective.

Banga knew Gill for more than 20 years, remembering him as a hardworking business owner and family man, saying he was an important part of the Sikh temple in Edmonton.

“He was a hard worker, and he basically built a pretty big empire all by himself by hard work. He was a good son, good father, good grandfather, and a great friend.”

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The shooting happened over the noon hour Monday at a construction site owned by Gill in the Cavanagh neighbourhood.

Another man was found dead on scene, and a third man was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. Dozens of people in Edmonton’s South Asian Community showed up to the scene Monday.

“It’s just a devastating, devastating loss for his family, his friends and the community. We have lost not only a very successful business person, but we lost a champion of the community,” said Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi.

Edmonton’s mayor says he knew both Buta Gill and the 51-year-old man rushed to the hospital, saying his condition is now stable.

While the public has questions about what happened, police are remaining tight-lipped on details, saying autopsies scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday will determine the cause and manner of death for the two men who died on scene.

Homicide detectives are leading the investigation, but police say they are not looking for a suspect in the shooting that killed two and injured a third.