A Kelowna mother is grieving her son after he was stabbed to death in front of a downtown Vancouver Starbucks Sunday evening.
"His wife and daughter witnessed the whole thing. The most disturbing thing is that nobody tried to help, nobody called 911, nobody called the police. They just sat and watched. I can't get my head around it," said Kathy Schmidt.
Paul Schmidt, who moved to Vancouver from Kelowna a few years ago, was stabbed after a brief altercation outside the Starbucks at West Pender and Granville St. at 5:40 p.m on Sunday.
The stabbing was captured on cell phone video and shared on social media. The video is extremely graphic and disturbing and is not being published by Castanet.
“We believe this homicide was witnessed by dozens of bystanders, and there may be people with information who have not yet come forward,” said Vancouver Police Sgt. Steve Addison.
“We particularly want to hear from anyone who was present in the moments before the stabbing, or anyone who has cell-phone video of the incident.”
Inderdeep Singh Gosal, 32, has been charged with second-degree murder in relation to the stabbing.
Police said a constable patrolling in the area was flagged down moments after the stabbing and arrested the suspect at the crime scene. Additional VPD officers attempted to save the victim’s life by performing first aid, however he succumbed to his injuries after being rushed to hospital.
Investigators do not believe the victim and suspect knew each other, however the circumstances that led up to the incident remain under investigation.
Schmidt's mother says she cannot understand why her son lost his life and why it appears no one did anything to help.
"I saw one of the videos and this guy is stone faced with absolutely... I mean, was he high? I want to know everything there is to know about this guy. May he never see the light of day," said Schmidt.
The mother added she wants to see the charges adjusted to first-degree murder instead of second-degree. First-degree murder requires the Crown to prove that the killing was both planned and deliberate.
"Do you carry a knife when you go to the coffee shop?" asked Schmidt.
Fundraiser launched
Schmidt is on her way to Vancouver to help her daughter-in-law and granddaughter who are now left without a husband, father and source of income.
"They are a young family... There is no way (my daughter-in-law) is going to come out of this unscathed, she will not be able to work anytime soon," Schmidt said, explaining a GoFundMe has been set up to help the family.
"Paul was a good husband and father. He lived for his wife and daughter. The family is meeting in Vancouver to to help her hand the baby and figure out what we're gonna do with their apartment and funeral services and all that," added Schmidt.
The organizer of the GoFundMe has asked people not to share the horrific cell phone video that captured Paul Schmidt's final moments as he lay bleeding in front of the Starbucks.
"We are in touch with the Paul's wife's family as our executive director is close with the cousins," said the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden Society of Vancouver.
"We would like to kindly ask everyone out there to be respectful to the family's wishes and not circulate the horrific video footage that has been shared on social media."
Vancouver Police deputy chief Howard Chow also urged the public not to share the video, although that plea seems to have fallen on deaf ears. One version of the video on Twitter has recorded more than a million views.
"Can there be anything more disgusting and loathsome than seeing a video posted of the stabbing. Aside from impacting evidence, have you considered the impact on the victim’s family and friends," he tweeted.
