On April 5, 1996 the estranged husband of Rajwar Gakhal entered the residence of the Gakhal family in Vernon, BC and methodically gunned down eleven members of the Gakhal and Saran families, nine of whom died of their wounds while two, a six year old girl and a sixty year old woman, were to recover from their wounds.
This was the second worst mass murder in Canadian History, second only to the murder of fourteen female engineering students at a Montreal university, by a gunman who then killed himself. The shooter, Marc Chahal of Vancouver, also later killed himself.
The full story can be found at
Murderpedia
This concrete memorial honoring the nine victims was erected by their families and the citizens of Vernon. It contains bronze plaques bearing the name and a short biography of each of the victims.
IN LOVING MEMORY OF
THE
GAKHAL AND SARAN
FAMILIES
WHO DIED APRIL 5, 1996
MEMBERS OF THE GAKHAL FAMILY
KARNAIL SINGH
DARSHAN KAUR
RAJWAR KAUR
BALWINDER KAUR
KALVINDER KAUR
HARVINDER KAUR
JASPAL SINGH
|
AGE 53
AGE 52
AGE 28
AGE 26
AGE 19
AGE 17
AGE 14 |
MEMBERS OF THE SARAN FAMILY
BALJIT (ROGER) SINGH
JASBIR KAUR
|
AGE 33
AGE 31
|
DEDICATED BY THE GAKHAL
& DHALIWAL FAMILIES
& THE CITIZENS OF VERNON,
COMMITTED TO ENDING FAMILY
VIOLENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY.