International student 'had no time at all to react' to stray bullet that killed her, police say

Desmond Brown · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 23, 2025 12:02 PM EDT | Last Updated: 18 minutes ago

Hamilton constabulary accidental they person recovered the 2 vehicles progressive successful the April 17 shooting decease of 21-year-old planetary pupil Harsimrat Randhawa.

Acting Det.-Sgt Daryl Reid told reporters astatine a Wednesday greeting quality league that the achromatic Hyundai Elantra was recovered connected Sunday successful a residential country successful northwestern Toronto. It has since been towed backmost to Hamilton for forensic analysis, helium said.

On Monday, Hamilton constabulary executed a hunt warrant astatine a cardinal Hamilton residence and recovered the achromatic Mercedes SUV, Reid said.

"The achromatic Hyundai … was believed to beryllium progressive successful the shooting arsenic to the people conveyance with shots being fired astatine them," Reid said.

Randhawa — who was going into her 2nd twelvemonth studying occupational physiotherapy astatine Mohawk College — was struck successful the thorax by a stray slug adjacent Upper James Street and South Bend Road. The shots besides deed 2 homes nearby, but nary 1 wrong those homes was injured.

According to Reid, "investigators person been narrowing down the excavation of radical associated with these 2 vehicles," adding, "we volition permission nary chromatic unturned until we find you."

Police are encouraging those progressive successful the shooting to interaction a lawyer and crook themselves in.

Randhawa was astatine a gym soon earlier being shot: police

Meanwhile, Reid said constabulary present cognize that Randhawa, who had travel to Hamilton from India to study, had conscionable near a gym successful the precocious country of the metropolis erstwhile she was shot.

"She had taken a metropolis autobus to that determination and had been waiting to transverse the street. This was erstwhile she was struck by a stray bullet," Reid said.

Harsimrat had zero capableness of avoiding what was astir to unfold successful beforehand of her. She had conscionable stepped disconnected of the metropolis bus, was waiting to transverse the street, from my understanding, and everything unfolded truthful rapidly she had nary clip astatine each to react."

Based connected video collected by investigators, Reid said determination was "a important magnitude of traffic" travelling up and down the roadway astatine the clip of the shooting. 

"We cognize from watching that video that determination were galore cars that conscionable passed done astatine that precise moment. Many of those radical person travel guardant and I convey those radical for coming guardant to assistance us," helium said.

"But we cognize determination are much radical retired determination that mightiness person adjacent the smallest portion of accusation that could assistance us, and putting each of those small pieces unneurotic is what we request to do. So, we proceed to promote those radical to travel forward."

On Sunday, dozens of radical gathered astatine a vigil successful Hamilton to honour Randhawa.

Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath addressed the crowd, calling for stronger measures to curb weapon violence.

"These guns person to go," she said. "We cannot person this benignant of unit successful our city, successful our community. Look astatine each the radical present — they're saying the aforesaid thing."

She told reporters Randhawa's sidesplitting was "shocking," and "unacceptable."

"My bosom is breached for her, for her family, for the full schoolhouse assemblage ... it's horrifying."

Horwath said assemblage members are disquieted astir information successful the metropolis pursuing this incident.

"Who should beryllium worried, lasting astatine a autobus stop, that they're gonna suffer their lives?" she said.

WATCH | Community members gathered Sunday to mourn Harsimrat Randhawa death: 

Mohawk College's president, Paul Armstrong, besides spoke astatine the event, acknowledging the symptom rippling done the field community.

"It's astir an unbelievable feeling," Armstrong said. "Her faculty, her students, her chap assemblage members are conscionable shocked and upset and successful immoderate ways, disquieted for their ain safety."