The parents of a 21-year-old woman who was shot and killed at a Mississauga gas station on Saturday say they now regret sending her to Canada from Punjab on a student VISA when she was a teen.
Their dreams of a better life filled with opportunity for their daughter, Pawanpreet Kaur, were cruelly dashed when she was shot and killed at a Petro-Canada station at Creditview and Britannia roads at around 10:40 p.m.
Police say she was working an overnight shift at the gas station when she was killed.
Kaur’s parents spoke with Jaspreet Pandher of Omni News on Wednesday from Punjab, where they are grappling with sorrow and regret.
“We regret sending her off to Canada,” Kaur’s mother, Jasveer Kaur, said. “Why did we send her at a young age to get her degree? We should have kept her here with us.”
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Her father, Devinder Singh, said they had hoped their daughter would receive a quality education, and plant roots for other family members to join her.
They sent her to Canada on a student VISA when she was 18 — a decision that now haunts them.
“There was a craze here in India for everyone to send their kids (to Canada),” he said through a translator. “We thought others were sending their children to Canada, so we thought we would too as a way to get our family to Canada.”
“We just want justice for our daughter,” he added. “We are grieving for justice. We won’t get our daughter back, so we just want the killer to be found. The daughter we raised will never come back to us.”
Pawanpreet’s mother said police originally shared the news of their daughter’s killing with her relatives in Brampton, who then shared the devastating news with them back in Punjab.
Her Canadian relatives are now coordinating with Peel police, who released more information about Kaur’s killing on Wednesday night, saying the suspect was seen on foot, and riding a bicycle in the area in the hours leading up to the fatal shooting.
Police released a photo of the bicycle, which has been seized, and said it may have been stolen.
It’s described as a maroon Sportek Ridgerunner mountain bike. Investigators are asking anyone with a similar bicycle to check and see if it has been stolen. If it’s missing, you’re urged to contact police.
On Monday night, police released a more detailed description of Kaur’s killer.
“The suspect wore a three-quarter-length dark winter jacket with a hood, dark winter boots, dark pants, a dark winter toque and white gloves,” police described in a release.
“It appears that the suspect was smoking a cigarette. The suspect did not pull the hood up over their head until shortly before shooting the victim at close range.”
After fatally shooting Kaur, police say the suspect ran westbound across Creditview Road, then westbound on Britannia Road, and then westbound onto Camgreen Circle.
Police have said that they are treating the killing as targeted, but have not shared a possible motive at this time.
