'A safe place to live': Mill Woods leaves its checkered past behind

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For a brief time, Mill Woods had a reputation for drive-by shootings and gang violence, though most of the headlines were tied to a few people in afew select neighbourhoods.

Homes were targeted byMolotov cocktails. Occasionalgunfire sent people scrambling for cover.

The resulting media coverage created a bad impression that may, unfairly, linger in some people's minds.

"The issue, partly, was because Mill Woods was such a large area,"saidArundeepSinghSandhu, who back then lived in some of the neighbourhoods where the violence happened."All of the crime that happened there, it just got labelled as one area.

"I think there was a stigma, for a brief period, especially around the early 2000s. There seemed to be an uptick in violent crime, organized crime."

Much of the violence was linked to a rivalry between two gangs, one headed by RanjitMangat, the other byUsmanPervez.The two menlived less than six blocks from each other.

• Mangat jury hears of summer of violence
• Police, family differ on Mangat slaying

'I think itgot a bad rep'

"They became rivals of each other, and from there it surfaced into fights at parties and progressed into drive-by shootings andMolotovcocktails being thrown at houses, and inevitably murder," said Edmonton deputy police chief KevinBerezinski, who responded to a number of those calls at the time as a member of thegang unit.

"It seemed like weekly we were having drive-by shootings taking place. We'd have threats, complaints being made, and then murder. It didn't make the community look very good at the time."

In December 2000,AdnanPervez, 18, was gunned down in the driveway of his family's home. Police said at the time his older brotherUsmanhad been the intended target.

In March 2001,Mangat, 22, was the victim of a contract killing.During the subsequent trial, court learned thatUsmanPervezhad paid a man$20,000 for the contract killing, because he believedMangathad been involved in his brother's murder.UsmanPervezis currently serving a life sentence for murder.

From the archives: Mill Woods Adnan Pervez murder

6 years ago

Duration 1:41

The drive-by shooting in Mill Woods has the neighbourhood worried.

Sandhu, whogrew up in Mill Woods, saidthe shootings put the community on edge.

"We knew those guys," he said. "We knew the families. There was a shooting down the street from my house, and we lived in a new area, a nicer area at the time."

The collateral damage left the community's reputation in shambles, earning it the label of "kill woods."

"It's unfortunate it was localizedtoward Mill Woods,"saidBerezinski. "I think it got a bad rep."

• Guilty plea in firebombing of Millwoods house
• Mill Woods house hit by firebombs twice in one day

Several years later, in 2007, two new groups started another feud. This time homes were hit by Molotovcocktails.

Federal Natural Resources MinisterAmarjeetSohiwas a rookie city councillor for the area when the fire bombings happened.

He helped facilitate a meeting between the two groups to try to stop the violence.

From the archives: Firebombings in Mill Woods

6 years ago

Duration 1:55

Amir Qureshi admitted to throwing a Molotov cocktail at a Mill Woods home.

"I think it helped in decelerating some of the tensions at the time," saidSohi, who personally knew some of the families involved.

Berezinskicredits community leaders for banding together and co-operating with police.

"Again, it was a small group of people that were responsible for a majority of the crimes that were taking place, the violent crimes,"Berezinskisaid.

"We've displaced a lot of those people. Some of them are still in jail, and people have grown up and movedon, which is a good thing for us."

'The whole world's here'

Sandhu continues to live in Mill Woods and said the area is thriving these days.

Not making the headlines every other day has helped, he said.

"In the last decade, we've seen a change in how the reporting is done," he said. "And so you don't have Mill Woods name attached to crime stories as much.

"The community coming together to address the issues was a big factor, probably the biggest factor in changing the perception. The community's got to be willing to address things head on."

New Canadians continue to flock to the area, which has now grown to almost 80,000 people and is considered one of Edmonton's most diverse.

"I've always felt like the whole world's here,"saidSandhu."I would say that Mill Woods has always been a safe place to live. When you look at the stats, crime in Mill Woods has never been high compared to other parts of the city."

Berezinski said the southeast police station is one of the city's busiest. More than 160 officers work out of that station.

"I think things have changed," he said. "It's a good place to raise your kids, and it's a good community and good people."

• More on our series about Mill Woods