On the evening of Saturday, October 19th, police officers responded to a Walmart in Halifax, Nova Scotia, after a report came in about a sudden death at the store.
“On October 19 at approximately 9:30 p.m. police were called to a sudden death at Walmart located at 6990 Mumford Road. A 19-year-old woman employed at the store was found deceased,” Halifax police wrote in a news release.
“Investigators are working closely with Occupational Health and Safety and the Nova Scotia Medical Examiner Service to determine the cause and manner of death.”
The 19-year-old woman in question was later identified as Gursimran Kaur, who worked at that particular Walmart location for two years alongside her mom.
Gursimran and her mom emigrated to Canada from India approximately three years ago, and her dad and brother still live over in India.
In a second statement, the Halifax police wrote, “The woman, who was an employee of the store, was located in a large walk-in oven belonging to the store’s bakery department.”
“It is important to note that the investigation has not yet reached a point where the cause and manner of death have been confirmed. The investigation is complex and involves several partner agencies. An investigation of this nature may take a significant amount of time.”
“We urge the public to be mindful of sharing speculative information on social media. Please be aware of the impacts that speculation could have on family, colleagues and loved ones of the woman.”
A GoFundMe page was created for Gursimran by the Maritime Sikh Society, an organization to which her family belongs. The page noted that Gursimran arrived in Canada “with big dreams.”
On the night that Gursimran was found burned to death inside the bakery department’s walk-in oven, her mom searched that Walmart after not being able to find her daughter for an hour.
“She asked around, but everyone brushed [her] aside, thinking that she may be somewhere helping a customer; Walmart is a superstore, after all,” the GoFundMe page continued.
“Her phone was not reachable. Mother started panicking, as it was unusual for her to switch her phone off during the day. She reached out to the onsite admin for help. As you all know now, her remains were found inside the walk-in oven in the bakery after a few hours.”
“Imagine the horror that her mother experienced when she opened the oven when someone pointed it out to her!”
Gursimran’s death is still being investigated, and her cause of death has yet to be made public.
