Candlelight vigil honours Seneca student fatally shot

Seneca College students hosted a candlelight vigil Sunday afternoon at Nathan Phillips Square to honour the memory of Kartik Vasudev.

The 21-year-old student from India was fatally shot on Thursday outside of the Sherbourne subway station.

Police said an off-duty paramedic tried to save Kartik’s life after the shooting, but he later died in hospital.

“It could have been any of us,” said one of the several hundred who turned out for the vigil, carrying signs that read ‘I am Kartik’.

“It could have been me, your parents, anybody. Anyone of your loved ones.”

Thornhill MP Melissa Lantsman told the crown the federal government will work to get justice for his family and friends.

“In my community when you lose somebody, you lose an entire world around them,” she said. “You have our support and we will make sure that the House of Commons in Canada knows about Kartik, knows about his legacy, and knows that international students are welcome here and that this is a safe environment.”

College president David Agnew was among those in attendance and says what happened to the 21-year-old international student is shocking.

“Within weeks of arrival in Canada, full of enthusiasm and ambition and energy to start a new life here, gets a job and then is cut down by this random act of violence.”

Half a world away, more than 1,000 people gathered outside Vasudev’s school in India to demand justice, according to his cousin.

RELATED: Father of Seneca student fatally shot outside TTC subway station pleads for answers

Vasudev’s father, Jitesh Vasudev, told CityNews in an interview his son was a shy and thoughtful person.

Jitesh said he is working with the Indian consulate in Toronto to try to get his son’s body back to India.

The college also released a statement, saying the Seneca community is saddened to hear about Kartik’s death, and its thoughts are with his family, friends, and classmates.

Candlelight vigil at Nathan Phillips Square for Kartik Vasudev, who was fatally shot outside Sherbourne subway station. CITYNEWS/Craig Wadman

With files from Michelle Mackey