VANCOUVER -- Police have identified the victim of a Dec. 23 homicide in Surrey, B.C. as 18-year-old Keeshawn Brown from Ontario.

According to the site HipHopCanada.com, Brown, who went by the name Why-S, was an "up and coming Toronto rapper" who had released two music videos this year.

RCMP officers found Brown dead of a gunshot would inside a home in the 2200 block of 152nd Street in Surrey, southeast of Vancouver, on Dec. 23 at around 9:30 p.m. Police were responding to a report of a deceased man in the home, said Detective Lara Jansen, a spokesperson with the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, during a press conference on Saturday.

IHIT is now investigating this case, and believes the shooting was an isolated event, not related to the ongoing gang conflict in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, Jansen said. Based on the evidence they've come across so far, investigators believe Brown was targeted, and that he knew the person who killed him, Jansen said.

Homicide investigators are now trying to determine how long Brown had been in British Columbia and establish a timeline of his activities leading up to his death.

Another Toronto-area rapper, Jahquar Stewart who went by the stage name Bvlly, was shot and killed in Oshawa on Dec. 24. Jansen said IHIT is not aware of any links between the two deaths.

Police are appealing to anyone who was with Brown or has any information that could help investigators to get in touch at 1-877-551-IHIT (4448) or by email at ihitinfo@rcmp-grc.gc.ca. Tips can also be left anonymously at Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.