Hamilton·Updated

2nd man charged after April shooting death of international student Harsimrat Randhawa: Hamilton police

A second person has been arrested and charged in relation to the April shooting death of 21-year-old international student Harsimrat Randhawa, an innocent bystander, Hamilton police say.

26-year-old arrested in suburban Toronto, faces 3 counts of attempted murder

Harsimrat Randhawa, a 21-year-old international student who was studying at Mohawk College, is pictured
Harsimrat Randhawa, a 21-year-old international student, died in hospital of a gunshot wound after she was hit by a stray bullet while standing near a bus stop at the intersection of Upper James Street and South Bend Road on April 17. (Submitted by Hamilton Police Service)

A second person has been arrested and charged in the shooting death in April of 21-year-old international student Harsimrat Randhawa, who was an innocent bystander, Hamilton police say.

Obiesea Okafor, 26, was located in North York in suburban Toronto on Thursday, police said in a news release Friday, a day after murder and attempted murder charges against Jerdaine Foster, 32, were announced. 

Okafor was taken back to Hamilton and has been charged with three counts of attempted murder, it says.

Randhawa, from India, died in hospital of a gunshot wound after she was hit by a stray bullet while standing near a bus stop at the intersection of Upper James Street and South Bend Road on April 17. She'd just gotten off the bus and was waiting to cross the street when she was struck. 

Police spoke at a news conference on Thursday about Foster's charges — one count of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder — that were laid after he was arrested in Niagara Falls, Ont., two days earlier. 

Foster has ties to Hamilton, Halton and Niagara regions, living in short-term rental properties, police said.

At least seven people in four cars were involved in a dispute that led up to the shooting of Randhawa, they told the news conference. 

"This investigation is ongoing, and detectives continue to relentlessly pursue all leads to identify and arrest those involved." 

Police are urging anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Desmond Brown

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Desmond Brown is a GTA-based writer and editor who covers stories for various CBC bureaus in Ontario. He previously worked with news organizations including Caribbean Media Corporation, The Associated Press and Inter Press Service.

With files from Samantha Beattie