Video of Whistler hotel shooting shown at murder trial as witness describes narrow escape
Court footage shows two masked shooters firing at hotel guests in Whistler Village on July 24, 2022. Hotel valet Chris Nash testified he fled the scene as gunfire erupted around him.
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A video of the July 24, 2022 shooting in the lobby of Whistler's Sundial Hotel was shown Wednesday at the B.C. Supreme Court murder trial of Gursimran Sahota, 28, and Tanvir Khakh, 24, both charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Meninder Dhaliwal and Satindera Gill.
Chris Nash, a former hotel valet who witnessed the attack, testified before Justice Miriam Gropper and a 12-member jury. The video shows two masked shooters dressed in black emerge from out of camera range and fire at two hotel guests who ran outside toward waiting vehicles before collapsing on the pavement.
Nash had just brought a white BMW SUV to the hotel entrance for one of the victims when the shooting started. "As I'm getting out of the vehicle, two men sort of came out from a blind spot," he testified. "I managed to beeline it away from the hotel. With my back turned, I kept hearing shots. And I thought I was shot in the back of the leg, but this was just … I tore my hamstring trying to move away."
Once he thought he was safe, Nash called 911, then walked back to the scene. Both victims were hotel guests he had helped earlier that day. "One was clearly executed, left on the ground," he told the court. "The second victim had people tending to him and appeared to be responding."
Nash is a native of Australia. He testified the shooting occurred on a busy, sunny Sunday. Crown lawyer Fatemeh Nejatali told jurors during opening submissions that "as soon as they stepped outside of the hotel lobby to get their vehicles that had been retrieved by the hotel's valet attendant, two masked and armed men began shooting at them from very close range. Mr. Dhaliwal collapsed after being shot at several times by both gunmen. Both gunmen then continued to shoot bullets." Nash was the trial's first witness.
The facts
What happened at Whistler's Sundial Hotel on July 24, 2022?
Two masked shooters in black fired at hotel guests in the lobby. The victims, Meninder Dhaliwal and Satindera Gill, ran outside toward vehicles before collapsing on the pavement.
Who are the defendants in this murder trial?
Gursimran Sahota, 28, and Tanvir Khakh, 24, are both charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Meninder Dhaliwal and Satindera Gill.
What did witness Chris Nash say happened when the shooting started?
Nash, a hotel valet, had just brought a white BMW SUV to the entrance when two men emerged and began firing. He ran from the hotel and tore his hamstring while fleeing. He then called 911 and walked back to find both victims on the pavement outside.
