Hamilton police say they are appealing to those involved in the death of a 21-year-old international student who was struck and killed by a stray bullet amid a brazen shootout between two vehicles.
The shooting happened on April 17 at 7:30 p.m. near Upper James and South Bend Road in Hamilton. Harsimrat Randhawa had just got off the bus after going to the gym and was waiting to cross the street when a passenger in one vehicle began shooting at another vehicle, police said.
“I know from watching the video that it happened very quickly,” Acting Det. Sgt. Daryl Reid told reporters in another update on Wednesday, almost a week after the shooting.
“Harsimrat Randhawa had zero capability of avoiding what was about to unfold in front of her,” Reid continued. “Everything unfolded so quickly. She had no time at all to react.”
Randhawa suffered a gunshot wound to her chest and was rushed to hospital where she later died, police said.
Harsimrat Randhawa is shown in this undated police handout photo. Police in Hamilton say Randhawa, a 21-year-old college student from India, was an innocent bystander in an alleged homicide that saw her shot while standing at a city bus stop.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Hamilton Police
Investigators said through video evidence, they observed a passenger in a black Mercedes SUV shoot at occupants of a white Hyundai Elantra.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
The white Hyundai Elantra was recovered on April 20 in a residential area in northwestern Toronto with the help of Toronto police, Reid said, adding that vehicle was towed back to Hamilton for forensic examination.
The following day, on April 21, Reid said police executed a search warrant at a residence in central Hamilton where the black Mercedes SUV was recovered and brought back to the station for forensic examination.
Reid said other items were collected in addition to the vehicles, but no weapons have been recovered yet.
“We encourage those involved in April 17 incident to contact their lawyer and turn themselves into police and speak to us,” Reid said.
Reid said neither of the vehicles involved were stolen, but he would not elaborate on the owners of the vehicles as investigators are looking at who had access to them.
“Knowing an owner is one thing, but knowing who’s operating the vehicle and who’s shooting the gun at the time that it’s being used is a different part,” he said.
Reid said there was “a significant amount of traffic” going up and down the road at that time of day.
“We know there are more people out there that might have even the smallest piece of information that could help us,” he said. “Putting all of those little pieces together is what we need to do so we continue to encourage those people to come forward.”
Randhawa was from India but came to Canada two years ago in search of a better life and was studying at Mohawk College. Her cousin, Balraj Singh, said the family is devastated by the tragic loss.
Singh said Randhawa’s parents cannot eat or sleep after receiving the news of their only daughter’s death.
He called his cousin a very kind person who was “brilliant” in her studies. She had aspirations of opening her own physiotherapy clinic after graduating.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
