She came to Canada 'to train for a career in helping others.' She died at 21 when a stray bullet struck her
The 21-year-old international student who was killed by a stray bullet last week at a bus stop in Hamilton, Ont., had “zero capability of avoiding” it, police said as they continued their investigation into the shooting.
Harsimrat Randhawa, a 21-year-old student from India, had recently been at a gym in the upper area of Hamilton, police said. She had taken public transit to get there, and had been waiting to cross the street by the bus stop near Upper James Street and South Bend Road when the shooting occurred.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Acting Detective Sergeant Daryl Reid of the Hamilton Police Service said he had watched CCTV video captured at the time of the shooting.
“I know from watching the video that it happened very quickly,” he said. “Harsimrat had zero capability of avoiding what was about to unfold in front of her. She had just stepped off a city bus (and) was waiting to cross the street from my understanding, and everything unfolded so quickly she had no time at all to react.”
The incident occurred at a busy street corner, he said, and there may be witnesses who have not yet spoken to police.
“It was at 7:30 at night, there was a significant amount of traffic travelling up and down the roadway,” Reid said. “We know from watching that video that there were numerous cars that just passed through at that very moment.”
He added: “Many of those people have come forward, and I thank those people for coming forward to assist us, but we know there are more people out there that might have even the smallest piece of information that could help us, and putting all of those little pieces together is what we need to do, so we continue and encourage those people to come forward.”
Also on Wednesday, people gathered at Mohawk College, where Randhawa had been studying, to remember her.
“I’m truly at a loss for words. I don’t know what to say after the senseless tragedy,” said Katie Burrows, vice president of students and international, per the CBC .
“I’m sure that you all shared the heartbreak that I feel — a heartbreak for Harsimrat, who came to Canada to train for a career in helping others, and who I’m sure was looking forward to what her life would look like after she finished her program.”
Randhawa was going into her second year studying occupational physiotherapy at the college.
Micheline Lancia, one of her professors, remembered her as “a very kind soul” who was taken too soon.
“It’s very, very overwhelming to see a student who was doing so well, gentle, respectful, a little bit timid, she would have been a beautiful health-care worker. So, it’s a loss to everybody,” Lancia told the CBC.
“She was just very respectful of her presence. With health care, we are constantly handling patients, so you have to ask for permission and let them know that you will be touching them so they understand the process. And she was so respectful of that entire aspect of clinical skills and working with patients.”
Police said the shots were fired from a black Mercedes SUV targeting a white Hyundai Elantra. Reid said both vehicles had since been recovered .
“With the assistance of the Toronto Police Service, the white Hyundai Elantra was recovered on April 20th in a residential area in northwestern Toronto,” he said. “That vehicle has since been towed back to Hamilton for forensic examination.”
The following day, Hamilton police executed a search warrant at a residence in central Hamilton where they recovered the Mercedes.
“That vehicle has also been brought back to our police station for forensic examination,” Reid said. “Investigators have been narrowing down the pool of people who are associated to these two vehicles.”
He added: “We will leave no stone unturned until we find you. We encourage those involved in the April 17th incident to contact their lawyer and turn themselves into … police and speak to us.”
Reid said he did not believe the vehicles were stolen, but said the ongoing nature of the investigation prevented him from discussing their owners.
“There’s various things that we are going to do to try to figure out who had the vehicles at the time,” he said. “Knowing an owner is one thing but knowing who’s operating the vehicle and who’s shooting the gun at the time that it’s being used is a different part.”
Randhawas cousin, Balraj Singh, told the Canadian Press that her parents in India are devastated by the news.
“They will not be able to come here because they are in very bad condition now,” he said. “They are not even able to eat and sleep.”
Singh said Randhawa worked at a local McDonald’s, usually on weekends. He described her as a quiet and introverted person who was “brilliant” in her studies.
“She was absolutely happy in Canada,” he said, adding that her body would be repatriated to India this week.
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