Target of shooting outside gym in Kelowna has been hunted by assassins for years

Photo: ironathletics_official Instagram

Kyle Gianis

UPDATE 11:40 a.m.

The man shot outside a gym in Kelowna this week has been dodging assassination attempts for years now.

Kyle Gianis was wounded in a daytime shooting Monday in the parking lot of Global Fitness off Harvey Avenue, the Vancouver Sun has confirmed. He is expected to survive.

Investigators on Monday were focused on Gianis' matte-black Corvette parked within the crime scene. The same Corvette is featured in promotional photos for Gianis’ company, Iron Athletics.

Iron Athletics operates out of a West Kelowna home that was raided last week by the Combined Special Forces Enforcement Unit — the province’s police gang unit.

Sgt. Brenda Winpenny of CFSEU told Castanet Wednesday investigators are working to prepare a disclosure package for prosecutors related to that search warrant and declined comment on the shooting.

For a person who organized crime groups appear to have hunted for years now, Gianis has lived an unusually public life over the past 12 months. He hosted a reality show at his West Kelowna home early in the pandemic, attracting outrage and news coverage. He’s also continued to promote himself via his business on social media.

In 2017, he was the target of a shooting in Langley outside a restaurant that ended up killing his friend Tyler Pastuck. Drug dealer David Tull was sentenced to nearly 12 years in jail for the 2017 conspiracy to murder Gianis that resulted in the shooting.

Then in 2018, Surrey nurse Paul Bennett was killed when an assassin searching for Gianis went to the wrong home, reports the Vancouver Sun.

Gianis was sentenced to 13 years in prison in Washington State in 2008 for smuggling methamphetamine precursors into the U.S. He was transferred to Canada and released on parole in 2013.

In 2007, the CBC reported that Gianis was the occupant of a home that was shot at two nights in a row.

The Kelowna RCMP, meanwhile, appealed Wednesday for witnesses of the shooting, or of the grey car that fled the scene afterwards and was found burning in Glenmore.

ORIGINAL 11:10 a.m.

Kelowna RCMP are looking to speak with anyone who may have witnessed Monday's brazen daytime shooting in Kelowna.

They want to speak with anyone who may have been an eyewitness to the events, drivers with dashcam footage, or Glenmore residents who may have surveillance footage.

The incident occurred shortly after 12:30 p.m. Monday when a man was shot in the parking lot of Global Gym on Harvey Avenue near Burtch Road.

The male shooter fled the scene heading north on Burtch in a silver four-door sedan.

At about 12:55, a gray four-door Chevrolet Malibu was seen abandoned, and burning on Longhill Road.

RCMP investigators say the vehicle is associated with the shooting incident, and was driven northbound on Glenmore Drive before being torched.

“Kelowna RCMP is seeking public assistance for information related to the shooting or the suspect vehicle in order to advance the ongoing investigation,” says Cpl. Jocelyn Noseworthy.

“In particular, we are looking to speak to anyone who was traveling in these areas, including the North Glenmore area between 12:35 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. on March 29.”

If you can provide assistance, please contact the Kelowna RCMP Serious Crime Unit at 250-762-3300.

Photo: RCMP