A Canadian man has been stabbed to death after allegedly asking a stranger to stop vaping around his 3-year-old.
Vancouver resident Paul Stanley Schmidt (pictured above) was standing outside of a Starbucks on Sunday with his daughter Erica while his fiancée Ashley Umali was inside getting their drinks. According to the New York Post, Paul told a stranger standing nearby him and his toddler to stop vaping close to his child. The horrors that ensued left his family and the entire community shaken…
At approximately 5:30 p.m. the stranger, rather than putting away his vape, allegedly stabbed the father-of-one right in front of his little girl. Authorities were on scene soon after. The victim was rushed to the hospital, but sadly succumbed to his injuries. He was only 37 years old. So, so awful.
Police were able to make an arrest at the scene, taking 32-year-old Inderdeep Singh Gosal into custody. They have charged him with second-degree murder. It’s unclear if any other charges are pending, but they have damning evidence against him — a video of the crime was filmed and uploaded to social media, per The Post. It’s so terrible Paul’s family not only had to experience losing him in such a violent way, but now they have to worry the video might pop up on their social media feeds.
Sergeant Steve Addison, a spokesperson for local police, said they’re currently looking for a motive, something that makes more sense than being asked to be polite:
“There’s a significant amount of evidence to tell us what happened. What we are focusing on now is why did this happen. What are the events that transpired in the moments leading up to this very serious crime … and that’s something that may take some time for us to fully understand. We believe there are people likely nearby, people who witnessed it, people who were in the area who can help us to understand those questions.”
One witness, Alex Bodger, came forward on Monday and told Global News all he could hear during the incident was people screaming:
“It’s not something you think you would see walking down the street in Vancouver on a Sunday. Every time I think about the situation I get this feeling in my chest which is pure fear.”
This tragic death marks the sixth homicide that’s taken place in Vancouver since January.
Paul’s family has set up a GoFundMe to raise money for final expenses. In a conversation with Global News, which was posted in the description of the campaign, his mother Kathy said:
“Paul lived for his wife and his daughter … that was his whole life.”
She also told CityNews the harrowing detail of no one calling for help after the stabbing:
“I was incredibly surprised that nobody from inside the Starbucks called for help, nobody outside called for help. It wasn’t until basically he was in dire straits that somebody flagged down an officer on the sidewalk.”
The grieving mother confirmed to the Vancouver Sun, however, the weapon used on her son was a knife — and she’s demanding police up the suspect’s charge to first-degree murder:
“He had a knife. I don’t carry a knife into a coffee shop, do you?”
If you’d like to donate to the family, you can click the link HERE.
Our hearts go out to Paul’s family and loved ones. May he rest in peace. Learn more about the case (below):
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