Indian student fatally stabbed in Canada; housemate arrested

PTI, Dec 7, 2024, 10:09 AM IST

Ottawa: A 22-year-old Indian student was stabbed to death during an altercation in Canada’s Ontario province, according to the police, who have arrested and charged the victim’s housemate with second-degree murder in connection with the case.

Gurasis Singh, a first-year business management student at Lambton College, was stabbed on Sunday in Sarnia, police said in a statement.

The police received an emergency call for a report of a stabbing at 194 Queen Street, where Singh and the 36-year-old accused Crossley Hunter were residents of a rooming house.

They located Singh’s dead body and took Hunter into custody.

In a later statement, police said Singh and Hunter were involved in a physical altercation while in the kitchen, where the latter accessed a knife and stabbed Singh multiple times, killing him.

Police said they did not believe the crime to be racially motivated “at this time”.

Sarnia Police Chief Derek Davis said that despite the arrest, the “complex investigation” is ongoing.

“The Sarnia Police Criminal Investigations Division continues to gather all available evidence to determine the circumstances surrounding this criminal act and what, if any, motive may have existed that led to the murder of this young man,” the statement quoted him.

Davis added that the police, with Lambton College, “will continue our efforts to support Gurasis’ family and friends as they seek to navigate these tragic circumstances.”

The college also issued a statement condoling Singh’s death.

“Students are at the heart of Lambton College, and the loss of a student is a tragedy of the highest magnitude. We extend our deepest condolences to Gurasis’s family, loved ones, and friends,” it said.

“Many of our employees knew Gurasis from teaching him or providing student services. Even more have stepped in to provide support for his grieving friends and classmates,” it added.

Meanwhile, Hunter appeared by video before a Justice of the Peace and was remanded into custody. His next appearance will be later today.