A 21-year-old Indian student, Harsimrat Randhawa, lost her life in Hamilton, Canada, when she was hit by a stray bullet while standing at a bus stop. Hamilton Police said that Randhawa was hit by a stray bullet during a shootout between two cars near Upper James and South Bend Road.
Randhawa, a Mohawk College student in Hamilton, was traveling to work when the incident occurred. She is the fourth Indian citizen to have been killed in Canada within the last four months in unconnected violent attacks.
Police reported that the shooting erupted between the occupants of a white sedan and a black car, with one man opening fire in CCTV footage. Fronds from the shootout also shattered the window of a nearby residence, though no one else was injured. Randhawa had a gunshot wound to her chest and was taken to hospital, where she died from her wounds.
The Consulate General of India in Toronto confirmed that Randhawa was an innocent bystander. In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), the Consulate expressed grief and assured full support to her family while closely monitoring the ongoing homicide investigation.
This is the third of three distinct Indian national fatalities in Canada. Gurasis Singh, 22 years old from Ludhiana, was stabbed to death at his rented house in December 2024. Rittika Rajput, also 22, perished when a tree crashed onto her during a bonfire party. On December 6, Harshandeep Singh, 20 years old and employed as a security guard in Edmonton, was gunned down by a gang.
India has expressed concern regarding the safety of its citizens in Canada as violence cases increase, calling on residents and students to be vigilant.