“It is beyond comprehension for all of us."
Canadian police have arrested a 39-year-old man in connection with the murder of an Indian student.
The accused was identified as Richard Jonathan Edwin and was charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
On April 7, 2022, at around 5 pm, Toronto police received several calls about a shooting at Sherbourne Subway Station.
Twenty-one-year-old Kartik Vasudev was found outside the Glen Road entrance with multiple gunshot wounds.
He was taken to hospital where he later died.
Kartik – who was originally from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh – was a marketing student at Seneca College.
He had been on his way to work at the time of the incident.
According to investigators, Edwin shot Kartik multiple times before fleeing the scene.
Police said on April 9, Edwin shot another person.
At approximately 7 pm, he approached Elijah Eleazar Mahepath, who was walking on Dundas Street East near George Street.
The accused shot multiple rounds striking the victim and fled the scene.
In a statement, Toronto Police said: “These murders are believed to be random attacks and the victims were not known to the accused or each other.
“Investigators are working to establish the full motive behind the attacks and these remain active investigations.”
A vigil was held for the Indian student on April 10 at Nathan Phillips Square.
Ritik Sharma, President of the Seneca Student Federation, said:
“As an international student myself, this tragedy has greatly impacted me as many international students have given up so much to move here.
“My heart is broken.”
Seneca College President David Agnew spoke about the seemingly “random” nature of the shooting.
He said: “It is beyond comprehension for all of us.
“I can’t imagine, as a parent, the feelings of his parents right now, so many thousands of miles away.
“I know that they will draw great comfort from seeing all of you here knowing that your thoughts and your prayers are with them as well as we seek answers to why this possibly could have happened.”
While police believe it was a random shooting, Kartik’s family do not think that is the case.
His father Jitesh said:
“It seems unlikely that these were just random crimes as police is saying.”
“The man murdered two people in a span of two days.
“There has to be a motive or a target and it does not come across as random.
“I hope there is further investigation into the case and it is not dismissed at this point.”
The Consulate General of India is currently working with Kartik’s family to bring his body back to India.
A GoFundMe page has been set up and it has currently raised over $59,000.
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