Hamilton police say they have charged a man with first-degree murder months after a young, innocent bystander was struck and killed by a stray bullet during a gunfight.
At around 7:30 p.m. on April 17, police said 21-year-old Harsimrat Randhawa was standing at a bus stop near Upper James Street and South Bend Road when a bullet hit her chest.
Randhawa was on her way home from a local gym. She was rushed to hospital where she later died.
Randhawa was an international student who came to Canada from India two years ago and was studying at Mohawk College.
Det. Sgt. Daryl Reid said at the time of the shooting that Randhawa had “no time” to react.
In an updated press conference on Thursday, Reid said police had made an arrest in the case.
There was a dispute between two groups in several vehicles and at least seven people were involved in the argument, Reid said. The argument had gone on for a few minutes before Randhawa arrived at the stop, and then shots rang out once she arrived there.
He noted there was at least two guns involved in the shootout.
“The numbers [of gunshots] that went in both directions, I won’t say, but we feel confident based on the investigation that we understand which gun is responsible for the injury, and the damage in the neighbourhood,” Reid siad.
“We were able to sort that out with ballistics.”
A 32-year-old man from Niagara Falls has been charged with first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder. The accused was known to police, Reid said.
Chief Frank Bergen called it a “senseless act of gun violence” with no regard for public life.
“Acts committed by those who choose to pick up a gun for their purposes, without any guard for the consequences they keep,” he said.
“Selfish, dangerous, and the by-product of criminal entitlement.”