Killers captured on video arriving at Whistler hotel minutes before shooting, court hears

Scene of fatal Whistler shooting on July 24, 2022 Photo by Submitted photo

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Two killers arrived at Whistler’s Sundial Hotel just six minutes before they started shooting at two men carrying suitcases across the lobby toward the front exit in July 2022.

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The killers, dressed in dark clothing and wearing medical masks, were captured on CCTV footage casually walking in front of the hotel at about 12:12 p.m. on July 24, 2022.

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They then walked toward the front door and took the stairs up to the lobby, where they appeared to lie in wait for their targets.

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More dramatic footage from both before and after the fatal shooting of Meninder Dhaliwal and Satindera Gill outside the boutique hotel was played Tuesday at the B.C. Supreme Court murder trial of Gursimran Sahota and Tanvir Khakh. Both are charged with first-degree murder.

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Last week, Justice Miriam Gropper and 12 jurors were shown CCTV video of the actual shooting, which started in the lobby at 12:18 p.m. and ended outside the hotel as Dhaliwal and Gill attempted unsuccessfully to flee.

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Whistler RCMP Const. Kayle Courtney testified Tuesday that when he arrived at the crime scene just minutes after the killings, he checked the condition of the shooting victims laying on the pavement outside, then tried to preserve evidence at the scene, including shell casings.

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He later photographed everything he found before heading inside to look at the hotel’s security video at about 1 p.m.

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“I had done a police file previously for a stolen jacket, and I had reviewed CCTV there before to identify a suspect. And that’s how I knew they had good cameras up the steps,” Courtney said.

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He was directed to a room in the basement where the monitors were located, and a hotel employee played video of the shooting.

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On the screen, Courtney “observed two individuals leaving the front entranceway of the Sundial Hotel. Shortly after, they were met by two armed individuals who began shooting down the steps as these two other individuals had started to run away and fall down.”

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He testified that he took some quick snapshots of the suspect from the CCTV so he could circulate them to other officers searching for the killers.

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“I knew it was the quickest way to try and maybe relay some information,” he said.

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The trial has already heard that Khakh and Sahota were stopped in a vehicle in Squamish with three others less than an hour after the murders.

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Crown prosecutor Fatemeh Nejatali said in her opening submissions that the two accused were the only ones in the vehicle wearing clothing similar to what the killers wore.

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She also said the evidence would show that both Khakh and Sahota had gunshot residue on their hands and faces, as well as Dhaliwal’s blood on their clothing.