A man shot dead in a shopping mall parking garage was identified Friday as an associate of one of Vancouver's most notorious drug gangs, police said.

Rakesh Ratnam Naidu, 34, was killed Thursday at Oakridge Center, The Vancouver Province reported. Constable Tim Vanning of the Vancouver Police Department said three men were involved in the shooting, two who carried it out and a driver.

Naidu was associated with the Independent Soldiers, Fanning said.

The killing occurred in daylight when the Oakridge Center was open. Police were searching the area Friday, apparently looking for items the shooters threw away as they fled.