New York/ Tarn Taran, Apr 19 (PTI) A 21-year-old Indian student was killed in Canada after being struck by a stray bullet while waiting at a bus stop, as shots were fired from a passing car.

Harsimrat Randhawa, a student at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario, was on her way to work on Wednesday when the incident occurred. Hamilton Police, which is investigating the case as a homicide, called her an innocent bystander.

Back in Punjab, from where she hailed, her family has urged the Indian and state government for their assistance in bringing back her body.

In a statement, police said they received reports of a shooting near Upper James and South Bend Road streets at around 7.30 pm local time and found Randhawa there with a gunshot wound to the chest. She was rushed to a hospital but succumbed.

Randhawa was struck by a bullet after a passenger in a black car opened fire on a white sedan, it said. Shortly after the shooting, the vehicles left the scene.

She hailed from Dhunda village in Goindwal Sahib in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district.

Her grandfather Sukhwinder Singh in Tarn Taran said Randhawa had gone to Canada two years ago for studies.

“We came to know from our relatives yesterday. She was standing on the road and then a bullet hit her,” he told reporters.

After the news of her death reached the village, many villagers expressed grief to the family.

The Consulate General of India in Toronto said in a post on X Friday, “We are deeply saddened by the tragic death of Indian student Harsimrat Randhawa in Hamilton, Ontario.  “We are in close contact with her family and are extending all necessary assistance. Our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved family during this difficult time.” Police said that shots from the shooting incident also entered the rear window of a residence nearby where the occupants were watching television a few feet away. No one was injured in the home, police said.

Investigators are asking anyone with dashcam or security camera footage between 7.15 pm and 7.45 pm near the shooting area to contact authorities and provide any information that can help further the investigation. PTI YAS VN JMS CHS KSS GRS GRS