Hamilton, April 19, 2025 – Harsimrat Kaur Randhawa, a 21-year-old Indian student from Punjab’s Dhunda village, was fatally struck by a stray bullet while waiting at a bus stop in Hamilton, Ontario, on April 17, becoming the fourth Indian killed in Canada in four months. The Mohawk College student, shot in the chest during a 7:30 PM shootout between a black Mercedes SUV and a white sedan, succumbed despite medical efforts, Hamilton Police confirmed .
Randhawa, studying occupational therapy, was an innocent bystander, police said, with no ties to the gang-style shooting near Upper James and South Bend Road. Video evidence shows a passenger in the black SUV firing at the white sedan, with bullets also shattering a nearby home’s window—no residents were hurt . “She was just waiting for the bus,” her grandfather Sukhwinder Singh told The Tribune, urging India’s government to repatriate her body . X buzzes with grief—“Harsimrat deserved better!”—but some fuel unverified communal angles.
The Consulate General of India in Toronto, offering consular aid, called it a “tragic loss” Mohawk College mourned, withholding academic details for privacy. Canada’s 7.4% violent crime rise since 2020, with Hamilton’s gang shootings up 20%, stokes fear—1.3 million Indian-Canadians demand safety . India’s 2024 advisory flagged Canada’s hate crimes after Gurasis Singh’s stabbing and Rittika Rajput’s freak death . “It’s not safe anymore,” a Toronto student told The Hindu .
Police seek dashcam footage from 7:15-7:45 PM, with no arrests yet. For India’s 140 crore, it’s a heartbreak—3 lakh students abroad face rising risks (MEA). Will Canada curb gun violence, or leave diaspora vulnerable?
