Toronto/New Delhi, April 9: An Indian student, Kartik Vasudev, has become the latest victim of rising cases of homicide in Canada. Kartik, 21, was shot dead on Thursday evening outside the Sherbourne TTC subway station while on his way to the Mexican restaurant where he worked. According to the police account, officers found Kartik slumped outside the station’s Glen Road entrance with multiple gunshot wounds around 5 p.m. on Thursday and rushed him to hospital, where he died. The homicide squad is now handling the investigation. In a Friday news release, police said Kartik was attended to by an off-duty paramedic.
“We have lost everything,” Jitesh Vasudev told the Star, speaking from the family’s home in Delhi. “He was just trying to fulfil his dreams, it was his dream to come to Canada.” In a statement on Twitter, the Consulate General of India in Toronto confirmed it was in touch with the family, saying: “We are shocked & distressed at the unfortunate killing of Indian student Kartik Vasudev in a shooting incident in Toronto yesterday. We are in touch with the family and will provide all possible assistance in early repatriation of mortal remains.” External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar expressed grief at the tragedy.
“Grieved by this tragic incident. Deepest condolences to the family.” Kartik, who was studying management in Canada, was killed during a robbery attempt. According to his father, Kartik had spent the last three years studying hard to be accepted into school in Toronto. When he got word last fall that he had been accepted to Seneca College to study global business management, he was elated.
He was particularly drawn to the safety and opportunities in Canada, his father said, adding: “We were talking with him two or three times a day, and he was so, so happy.” Kartik had made friends and had just gotten a part-time job at the Mexican restaurant just two weeks ago, Jitesh Vasudev said. The last time he and his wife spoke to their son was Thursday afternoon, when Kartik was eating his lunch before he went to work.
On Friday morning they heard that Kartik’s manager had called his roommate because he had not shown up for his shift. Friends called police to report Kartik missing, and were able to identify his bag, which officers had found at the scene. Jitesh Vasudev then received the call from police that his son had died in hospital. “He was very polite, very sensitive, very loyal child. Everybody, family, friends, everybody loves him very much,” he said. “I don’t know what happened, but I’m trying to find out with the local police, please tell me what happened to my son.” “He was just going to his job, for his daily routine,” he said. They are hoping to bring back his remains soon, Jitesh Vasudev said. Kartik Vasudev is Toronto’s 19th homicide victim of 2022. The suspect, a black male about five-foot-six was last seen leaving the scene south on Glen St. UNI
