Coquitlam RCMP announce guilty plea after lengthy firearm related offence investigation

Following a lengthy police investigation into a 2021 shooting incident that occurred in Coquitlam, 36-year-old Sukhdeep Singh Pansal of Delta, British Columbia, has plead guilty to firearms related charges and has been sentenced to 38 months in prison.

On January 16, 2021, at approximately 12:05 a.m., Coquitlam RCMP frontline officers responded to a report of shots fired from a high-rise building located in the 600 block of Whiting Way, Coquitlam. A woman was found with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound and was taken to hospital. The Lower Mainland District Emergency Response Team (ERT) assisted Coquitlam RCMP and Pansal was taken into custody without incident.

Subsequently, Pansal plead guilty to the following offences:

• Unlawful possession of restricted firearm – Section 95(1) of the Criminal Code; and
• Unlawful discharge of firearm - Section 244.2(3)(a) of the Criminal Code.

Coquitlam RCMP frontline officers addressed this high-risk incident in a densely populated residential area, evacuating residents from numerous buildings, and containing the threat, said Media Relations Officer Acting Sergeant John Graham. Pansal was armed with a firearm and barricaded himself inside of a residence in a dangerous and potentially lethal situation. Pansal was subsequently taken into custody and the firearm was seized.

An extremely detailed and elaborate investigation was undertaken by the Coquitlam RCMP Major Crime Section, which has ended successfully with a guilty plea. The outcome of this investigation once again demonstrates our commitment to the communities we proudly serve.

On July 18, 2025, Pansal was sentenced to 38 months in prison (the effective sentence was five years after the court took into account his pre-sentence custody). The court also imposed a lifetime Section 109 firearms and ammunition prohibition, and an order that the offender provide a sample of his DNA to the national databank.