Indian student fatally shot outside Toronto subway in what family suspects is hate crime
An Indian international student, Kartik Vasudev, was murdered outside the Sherbourne subway station in Toronto last week.
A 21-year-old marketing management student at Seneca College, Vasudev was headed to his part-time job at a Mexican restaurant on April 7 when he was shot eight times at around 5:00 p.m. by a shooter who was described as a 5’7” Black male with a medium build.
The student received medical attention from an off-duty paramedic at the scene, but he was pronounced dead shortly after being rushed to St. Michael’s Hospital.
The shooter was last seen walking on Glen Road toward Howard Street. His motive remains unknown, but Vasudev’s family suspects the killing to be a hate crime.
“His bag was left behind and it seems so far that it was not a robbery. It is possible it was a hate crime,” Vasudev’s father Jitesh told The Indian Express. “All we want is someone to answer our questions. No one is telling us why a young boy was shot dead.”
A vigil was held for Vasudev at Nathan Phillips Square on April 10.
The young student arrived in Canada from Ghaziabad on Jan. 5 for his first year of schooling to pursue global management studies. He was living in an apartment with his cousin and had regularly taken the same route to get to work, except for on the day of his death when his manager asked him to pick up a package.
“As an international student myself, this tragedy has greatly impacted me as many international students have given up so much to move here,” Ritik Sharma, president of theSeneca Student Federation, said at the vigil. “My heart is broken.”
“I hope each and everyone remembers him as a hard-working, ambitious and inspiring international student,” Sharma added. “Students, they feel so sad right now — they are in deep sorrow. It should not happen to any one of us.”
The Indian Consulate in Toronto is working to bring Vasudev’s body back to India.
His family has set up a GoFundMe page with the goal of raising $75,000, of which $45,000 has so far been raised, to support his grieving parents.
“We are shocked & distressed at the unfortunate killing of Indian student Kartik Vasudev in a shooting incident in Toronto yesterday,” the Consulate tweeted. “We are in touch with the family and will provide all possible assistance in early repatriation of mortal remains.”
Member of parliament for Thornhill, Ontario Melissa Lantsman attended the vigil and addressed Vasudev’s family:
“You have our support and we will make sure that the House of Commons in Canada knows about Kartik, knows about his legacy and knows that international students are welcome here and it’s a safe environment for them,” she stated.
“What can you feel? We’ve lost our young child over there,” Vasudev’s father told CBC News. “My son was polite, humble, a sweet child. Why was my son the target?”
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