26-year-old Punjab woman shot dead in Canada, police call it ‘targeted attack’; suspect arrested

A 26-year-old woman of Indian origin was shot dead in Canada‘s Toronto in a suspected targeted attack, the police said. The victim was identified as Navneet Kaur, who was killed following a ‘brief interaction’ with the accused, identified as Sharnjeet Singh. 

The incident took place on the morning of July 24.

Sharnjeet, who is also of Indian origin, is a resident of Brampton. He has been charged with first-degree murder and arrested by the Ontario Provincial Police.

What the police said?

As per a statement by the Ontario Police, the officers responded to a shooting call at around 7.23 am on Friday, July 24, in the Humberwood Boulevard and Rexdale Boulevard area. Upon police’s arrival at the crime scene, Kaur was found with a gunshot wound. She was given emergency medical aid, but despite the efforts, she was pronounced dead at the scene.

The police revealed that upon investigation, it was found that the victim and the accused had a brief interaction before Kaur was shot dead. Sharnjeet fled the scene before the arrival of the police, but was later traced and arrested for the murder and failure to comply with an undertaking.

An eyewitness at the scene, as quoted by CBC News, said he saw the victim walking on Humberwood Boulevard when a man started following her. The suspect (later identified as Sharnjeet) then said something to the victim and proceeded to shoot her, before fleeing on foot with a gun in his hand.

The witness immediately contacted the emergency services upon witnessing the woman fall.

In Toronto, authorities indicated that Navneet’s murder seems to have been a deliberate attack and that the inquiry is ongoing.

Not the first case of its kind

The incident follows a similar case, where a woman was killed by her partner in Edmonton, the capital of Alberta province, earlier this month. The victim and suspect were both of Indian origins. A 22-year-old man, Ritish Kumar, was charged and arrested for the murder of his partner. 

The accused was charged with second-degree murder and had allegedly strangled his 23-year-old partner, Dhamanpreet Kaur. The police described the case as an intimate partner homicide.

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