Radio host outspoken about Surrey, B.C., violence says bullets fired at her car

SURREY, B.C. – A talk show host in Surrey, B.C., says bullets were fired at her car and her opinions on gang violence might be to blame.

Ashiana Khan is CEO of Media Waves Communications, an internet radio station that streams in English, Punjabi and Hindi. She hosts a show that tackles local and national social and political issues.

On Saturday night she was driving home from a family dinner when she heard a loud gunshot, she said. It felt like someone had hurled a rock at her vehicle, but when she heard a second shot, she realized it wasn’t a rock.

“I thought I was dead,” she recalled. “When I got to my senses, I started feeling my body, touching my body, (to see) if I’m alive or dead.”

Khan was so stunned she barely remembers speeding away and pulling over, she said, and it was only once she reached the roadside that she realized she wasn’t hurt. She called 911 and waited inside her car until police arrived, too terrified to get out.

Surrey RCMP confirmed they’re investigating an apparent shooting on Saturday night and the vehicle had damage consistent with being struck by bullets.

Mounties haven’t said whether they believe the shooting was targeted, but Khan fears she was attacked because of her outspoken views.

She was one of the organizers of a recent rally against gang violence that drew thousands after the deaths of two teenagers in the city.

On stage at the rally, other organizers ripped up a letter from five British Columbia MPs expressing their regret for not being able to attend, she said.

Khan publicly disagreed with the decision to tear up the letter, which she said prompted an onslaught of threatening social media comments directed at her.

She also said she’s spoken out against gang violence in general, as well as other political and social issues in Surrey.

“There are so many things I’ve been mouthing off about, I don’t know who got angry,” she said.

Khan added she can’t be sure the shooting was targeted because police have not said anything that would suggest they believe the bullets were meant for her.

Since the shooting, she said she has felt shaken and sometimes finds herself not hearing or processing anything when people talk to her. Her family is also traumatized and worried about her.

“It’s scary. I can’t really do things as I used to,” she said. “I was a person who had no fear inside me, but right now I’m going through this fear.”

— By Laura Kane in Vancouver.

— Follow @ellekane on Twitter.