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Killing of Paul Schmidt

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Coordinates: 49°28′47″N 123°11′52″W / 49.47972°N 123.19778°W / 49.47972; -123.19778
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Killing of Paul Schmidt
Vancouver, British Columbia
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2km
1.2miles
700 W Pender St, Vancouver, BC V6C 1G8, Canada
Location of killing in Downtown Vancouver
LocationDowntown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Coordinates49°28′47″N 123°11′52″W / 49.47972°N 123.19778°W / 49.47972; -123.19778
DateMarch 26, 2023 (2023-03-26)
c. 5:40 p.m. (PST, UTC-8)
DeathsPaul Stanley Schmidt
MotiveArgument over vaping
AccusedInderdeep Singh Gosal

Paul Stanley Schmidt was a 37-year-old Canadian who was the victim of a fatal stabbing on March 26, 2023, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.[1][2][3]

The accused, Inderdeep Singh Gosal, age 32, was arrested under charges of second-degree murder, with a hearing scheduled in Vancouver provincial court for April 11.[4][5]

Killing

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At around 5:30 PM, Paul Schmidt accompanied his fiancée Ashley Umali and their daughter to a Starbucks coffee shop located at the corner of West Pender Street and Granville Street in Downtown Vancouver. Umali went inside to order while Schmidt, and their daughter in a stroller, waited outside. While outside, Schmidt spoke with Gosal for using an electronic cigarette and requested him not to vape around his daughter. An argument began and an altercation ensued, at which point Gosal allegedly produced a knife and stabbed Schmidt in the neck.[1][6] A pedestrian, Alex Bodger, began filming the incident as Gosal yelled "fucking bitch" to Schmidt while he staggered and fell to the ground bleeding. Bodger continued filming Schmidt, posing for the camera and exclaiming "this motherfucker just died, bro."[3][7] Gosal also began filming Schmidt on the ground from inside the Starbucks. Other bystanders flagged down a constable patrolling the area and police responded to the scene around 5:40 P.M.[8] Officers attempted medical assistance on Schmidt, but he was declared dead after being rushed to the hospital. Gosal was arrested without resistance.[1][4]

Aftermath

[edit]

Schmidt's family, the Vancouver Police Department, and mayor Ken Sim issued statements asking people not to share images and video of the stabbing over social media. Schmidt's sister Jessica Foxx wrote on Facebook condemning the attack and Bodger's filming of it, posting "Someone took my brother's life yesterday and another person filmed it (do NOT watch) instead of calling the police and worse off posted it on social media very clearly for views." Their mother, Kathy Schmidt, told the Vancouver Sun about her son's killing, saying "This is so horribly wrong what happened," and that "[Gosal] had a knife. I don't carry a knife into a coffee shop, do you?"[1][9][10] A fundraiser on GoFundMe for fiancée Ashley Umali and daughter Erica Schmidt was organized by the local Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden Society, whose Executive Director Lorraine Lowe is a neighbor and friend of Umali's cousin. The fundraiser successfully raised over $165,000 CAD before the end of the month.[4][11]

Mayor Ken Sim Twitter logo, a stylized blue bird
@KenSimCity

This is an awful and tragic story to hear about. Nobody should ever feel unsafe walking around out (sic) city.

Our hearts go out to Mr Schmidt and his family — out of respect for them and their loss, please refrain from sharing graphic images or videos of the incident on social media.

March 27, 2023[12]

Becoming the sixth homicide in Vancouver in 2023,[13] Schmidt's killing was cited on March 28 (along with three other stabbing deaths also from within the prior three days) by Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre while addressing an increase in knife crime in Canada's big cities.[14] Police spokesman Sgt. Steve Addison stated the VPD "[believes] this homicide was witnessed by dozens of bystanders" and for any witnesses to provide the information privately to the police, adding in reference to Bodger's video "You don't need me to tell you that sharing a graphic, gratuitous video of someone's dying moments is inappropriate. Anyone with a sense of good taste knows that's inappropriate."[9][15] Mayor Ken Sim retweeted the DailyHive's coverage of the killing, giving condolences to Schmidt's family.[12]

Bodger uploaded his video and photos with Schmidt to TikTok, the video going viral and spreading to platforms such as Instagram, Reddit, and Twitter.[3][9] The video provoked discussion of the bystander effect and backlash towards the TikToker for his apathetic behavior. Internet commentator Cr1TiKaL compared Bodger's actions to the Logan Paul suicide forest controversy, calling the whole incident "something extremely infuriating."[16] In an interview with Global News, Bodger claimed he was traumatized by the killing and was only smirking in his video because he tends to smile during "uncomfortable situations", but would later post a video saying “Yeah, this shit, it doesn't faze me too much [...] I'll just say human life to me, the way I look at it, if I don't know you, it's meaningless, it's meaningless. I'm just keeping it straight up."[9][17] Bodger would also reportedly return to the Starbucks the day after Schmidt's death to take pictures of himself smoking cigarettes for social media.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Steinbuch, Yaron (March 29, 2023). "Dad killed outside Starbucks after allegedly asking attacker not to vape near his toddler". New York Post. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  2. ^ Kilander, Gustaf (March 29, 2023). "Father stabbed to death at Vancouver Starbucks after asking man not to vape near his daughter". The Independent. Washington, DC. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d Steinbuch, Yaron (March 31, 2023). "TikToker Alex Bodger faces backlash for selfie near Canadian dad slain at Starbucks". New York Post. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c The Canadian Press (Mar 29, 2023). "Fatal stabbing after reported vaping argument casts a pall over downtown Vancouver". CBC News. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  5. ^ Bhattacharyya, Anirudh (Mar 28, 2023). "Canada: Fatal stabbing in Vancouver leaves city shaken". Hindustan Times. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  6. ^ Balagtas, Tristan (March 29, 2023). "Dad Was Killed on Starbucks Patio After Allegedly Asking Suspect to Stop Vaping Near Toddler Daughter". People. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  7. ^ Thomas, Colleen Dilthey (Mar 30, 2023). "Vancouver Dad Killed on Starbucks Patio After Asking Someone Not To Vape Near His Toddler". CafeMom.com. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  8. ^ Nassar, Hana Mae (Mar 27, 2023). "Stabbing at Vancouver Starbucks leaves one man dead". Vancouver CityNews. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d Lazaruk, Susan (Mar 28, 2023). "Father stabbed to death outside Vancouver Starbucks after asking man to not vape near his toddler". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  10. ^ MacMahon, Martin; Nassar, Hana Mae. "Mother of Vancouver stabbing victim devastated: 'Nobody ... called for help'". Vancouver CityNews. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  11. ^ Duncan, Josh (Mar 31, 2023). "Fundraiser for family of man murdered outside Vancouver Starbucks surpasses $165K". KamloopsNow. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  12. ^ a b @KenSimCity (Mar 27, 2023). "This is an awful and tragic story to hear about. Nobody should ever feel unsafe walking around out city. Our hearts go out to Mr Schmidt and his family — out of respect for them and their loss, please refrain from sharing graphic images or videos of the incident on social media" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ^ Duncan, Josh (Mar 28, 2023). "Murder charge laid after shocking stabbing outside downtown Vancouver Starbucks". KamloopsNow. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  14. ^ MacMahon, Martin; Nassar, Hana Mae (Mar 28, 2023). "Vancouver stabbing ups pressure on governments to address random attacks". Vancouver CityNews. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  15. ^ Devlin, Megan (March 27, 2023). "Man dead in apparent random stabbing outside downtown Vancouver Starbucks (PHOTOS)". Daily Hive. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  16. ^ This Situation Is Horrible. YouTube. penguinz0. March 31, 2023. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  17. ^ Judd, Amy; Little, Simon (March 27, 2023). "Murder charge laid after man stabbed outside Vancouver Starbucks dies". Retrieved March 31, 2023.
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