ALBERTA: Six boys and a girl charged with murder in death of 16-year-old Karanveer Sahota of Edmonton

THE Edmonton Police Service last Friday announced that it had charged seven Edmonton youths in relation to the homicide of a 16-year-old male in southeast Edmonton on April 8.

The youth has been identified as 16-year-old Karanveer Sahota in the local media.

CBC Edmonton reported last week that the judge lifted the publication ban on the victim’s name after a challenge by the broadcaster.

On April 16, the boy had been identified by family members who started a fundraiser for his parents. By Monday (April 25), $247,291 had been raised of the $250,000 goal.

The GoFundMe stated: “His father is on long-term disability, his mother can no longer work due to her grief, and she has a 13-year-old daughter to support.”

Fundraiser: https://www.gofundme.com/f/please-help-karanveers-family

On Sunday, April 24, hundreds attended his funeral that was followed by a prayer service at the Gurdwara Shri Guru Singh Sabha.

On April 21, three of the youths, a 17-year-old female and two males aged 15 and 16, were charged with second-degree murder.The remaining four youths, two 14-year-old males and two males aged 15 and 16, were formally charged with second-degree murder on April 22. The female youth is also facing a charge of obstruction.

Six youths were charged with attempted murder in relation to the assault and were arrested over several days within the first week following the assault. A warrant for attempted murder was also issued for the seventh youth. Their charges were all upgraded to second-degree murder after the youth succumbed to his injuries on April 15 and the autopsy was completed on April 20, police said.

The victim and suspects were known to each another and it is believed that this incident was an escalation of violence between two rival groups.

At approximately 2:44 p.m. on April 8, officers responded to the report of an assault outside of McNally High School. Police located a 16-year-old male suffering from life-threatening injuries. Police, Edmonton Fire Rescue Services, and EMS provided first aid on scene, and paramedics treated and transported the youth to hospital. Sadly, the youth succumbed to his injuries on April 15 and the Homicide Section took over the investigation.

On April 20, the Edmonton Medical Examiner completed an autopsy on the youth and the cause of death was a stab wound of the chest, and the manner of death was deemed homicide, police said in a press release.