A quiet bus stop in Hamilton became the scene of a tragic loss last Thursday when 21-year-old international student Harsimrat Randhawa was fatally struck by a stray bullet, leaving her family, friends, and community reeling with grief and searching for answers.
On Sunday afternoon, dozens gathered at a candlelight vigil to remember Randhawa, who had come to Canada from India two years ago with dreams of building a better future. Her uncle, Manbir Sandhu, spoke through tears as he recalled picking her up from the airport when she first arrived. “She was a child,” he said. “She still looks like a child to me.”
Randhawa had been studying occupational physiotherapy at Mohawk College and was preparing to enter her second year. She had a passion for cooking and enjoyed spending time with her young cousin during visits to her family in Kitchener on long weekends. This past weekend, her family had planned to pick her up. Instead, they are now preparing to send her body back to India — a homecoming no one imagined.
According to Hamilton police, the shooting occurred near Upper James Street and South Bend Road. Gunfire erupted from a black Mercedes SUV targeting another vehicle. The bullets hit two nearby homes and struck Randhawa in the chest while she stood at the bus stop, waiting to head to work. Police confirmed she was not the intended target — simply an innocent bystander in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Community members at the vigil expressed sorrow and outrage. Students, even those who hadn’t known Randhawa personally, stood in solidarity. “It’s just so sad,” said Daniela Fernandez Llamas, another international student at Mohawk. “She was just waiting here to go to work, and now she’s gone.”
Mohawk College President Paul Armstrong said the campus community is devastated. “Her faculty, her fellow students, everyone is shocked, upset, and, frankly, worried about their own safety,” he said.
Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath addressed the crowd with a call for urgent action to combat gun violence. “These guns have to go,” she declared. “We cannot have this kind of violence in our city. It’s horrifying. Who should be worried, standing at a bus stop, that they’re going to lose their life?”
For Randhawa’s family, the grief is compounded by disbelief. Her loved ones in India, Sandhu said, “haven’t accepted it yet. They need to see her to believe she’s really gone. No parent should ever have to see that.”
Though the pain is fresh and the tragedy incomprehensible, Randhawa’s uncle hopes her death will lead to change. “She’s not coming back,” he said. “But something must be done so it doesn’t happen again.”
As of Monday morning, Hamilton police said there were no new updates in the investigation. They are continuing to appeal for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward.