The family of a couple who were killed in a shooting in Caledon last November held a vigil in Brampton Saturday to demand justice as no arrests have been made yet in the case.
"I'm feeling very sad because my whole family has been shot," said Gurdit Singh Sidhu. His parents, Jagtar Sidhu and Harbhajan Sidhu, and sister were shot at their home on Mayfield Road just before midnight on Nov. 20.
Jagtar was pronounced dead at the scene, while Harbhajan and her daughter were rushed to the hospital with critical injuries. The matriarch died in hospital later.
Gurdit said his sister remains in hospital, where she is recovering. He noted that she had been able to speak a little bit.
At the vigil, Gurdit remembered his parents as "nice" and "good" people who were helpful to others and always cooked for the family.
He believes his parents, who were visiting him from India, "were just at the wrong place at the wrong time."
Gurdit is seeking answers to several questions he has about the circumstances surrounding the shooting, including why Peel police officers visited his parents days before the shooting. He claimed the officers asked about his parents' "ID."
"They must have known something was going to happen," he said. Gurdit shared that he feels the shooting and the death of his parents could have been avoided in the first place.
His cousin, Paramvir Bhatti, said the family was only renting the upper floor of the residence and that other tenants were living in other parts of the house at the time.
Bhatti noted that Jagtar and Harbhajan were loving their stay in Canada and were planning to remain here longer.
"They said it's very safe, it's beautiful because they came in the summer. You know summer in Ontario is beautiful," he said. "They said that we will stay more after the snow. We will see the next summer, too."
At the vigil, attendees carried signs that read: "Innocent visitors brutally killed," "Stop illegal weapons," and "Complete failure of law & order."
Bhatti said they want concrete actions from all levels of government to ensure that communities are safe and violent incidents like this could be avoided.
"Once (the suspects) are caught, they should be always behind bars for their life without parole. That's what we want," he said.
FAMILY FRIEND RECOUNTS SHOOTING
Sukhwinder Singh, a friend of the family who was at the house that November evening, recounted what he saw and heard.
He said he was doing some work on his laptop when he heard one shot, which he initially thought was a tire that had blown out.
However, he heard a burst of shots seconds later, prompting him to run upstairs.
Sukhwinder said he saw a man running out of the house and getting into the passenger side of a vehicle. He noted that there was already a driver waiting.
"Then I ran inside back, and it was very horrifying to see that my whole family was shot. It was my friend's family, but they treat me like their son," Sukhwinder said, adding that he found the couple and their daughter in different rooms suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
"It was something I have never seen before."
He said he tried performing CPR on all three until police and paramedics arrived and took over.
Two months after the shooting, Sukhwinder said he was still trying to process what happened but wanted to be at the vigil to call for an end to violence.
"Whatever happened with us, we don't want anything similar to happen to somebody else," he said.
"If this happened to me, it could happen to anyone else, right?"
He, too, has questions about Peel police's visit prior to the shooting.
"They came, they saw, they checked the IDs, and they went (their way)," Sukhwinder said.
If police knew something, he said, they should have informed the family.
"If they didn't want to tell us, they should have been around the property, right? Patrolling around or something."
On Saturday, a spokesperson for Peel police confirmed that the homicide bureau did connect with the family on Nov. 16 in relation to an undisclosed investigation.
"All aspects of this case are now part of an active and ongoing investigation with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), and any further updates will be provided at the appropriate time," Const. Tyler Bell-Morena said in a statement.
Meanwhile, OPP have not made any arrests in the shooting. In their most recent update over two weeks ago, they continue looking for the "multiple individuals" involved.
No suspect descriptions have been released.
One individual was last seen entering a pickup truck that was observed heading west on Mayfield Road. Police have released images of the vehicle, which was believed to be the same pickup truck seen engulfed on fire on Olde Baseline and Creditview roads hours after the shooting.
As for a possible motive, police have not indicated what led to the shooting. When asked about whether investigators were looking this was a case of mistaken identity, OPP said last month that "all possible factors are part of the ongoing investigation."
On Thursday, a spokesperson for the OPP said they were aware of speculation and rumours on social media regarding the case.
"We can’t comment on what others are saying, but we encourage anyone with information that could assist the investigation to contact the OPP or Crime Stoppers."
Investigators continue to look for additional dashcam footage of the shooting scene, as well as the fire scene, between the hours of 11 p.m. on Nov. 20 and 12:30 a.m. on Nov. 21.
They are also urging anyone who saw the pickup truck in Caledon or anywhere in Peel Region between 5 p.m. and midnight on Nov. 20 to contact police at 1-888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
With files from CP24's Andrew Brennan
