2 men charged with first degree murder in shooting death of Ripudaman Singh Malik

Two men have been charged with first degree murder in the targeted killing of Ripudaman Singh Malik, who was acquitted in the 1985 Air India bombings and shot dead on July 14.

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) said in a news release Wednesday that charges have been laid against 21-year-old Tanner Fox and 23-year-old Jose Lopez.

IHIT will hold a press conference at 3:00 p.m. PT.

Malik, 75, was shot multiple times on the morning of July 14 outside his family business, Papillon Eastern Imports, on 128th Street in Surrey, British Columbia.

Malik and his co-defendant Ajaib Singh Bagri were acquitted in 2005 of mass murder and conspiracy charges related to two bombings targeting Air India flights that killed 331 people, mostly from areas of Toronto and Vancouver.

For the past few years, Malik has served as President of the Khalsa School and managed two of the private school campuses in Surrey and Vancouver. He was also president of the Khalsa Credit Union of Vancouver, which has over 16,000 members.