In a tragic incident that has shaken the local community, 19-year-old Gursimran Kaur, a Walmart employee in Halifax, Nova Scotia, was found burned to death in the store’s walk-in bakery oven on the night of October 19. Heartbreakingly, it was Kaur’s own mother, who also worked at the same Walmart, who made the devastating discovery.
Kaur and her mother had worked together at the store for the past two years. On that fateful evening, Kaur’s mother became concerned when she hadn’t heard from her daughter for over an hour, a break from their usual routine of checking in on each other during their shifts. Despite reassurances from co-workers that Kaur was likely assisting a customer, her mother’s worry deepened when Kaur stopped answering her phone.
As the mother searched frantically, another employee noticed an unusual “leakage” coming from the bakery’s large walk-in oven. When Kaur’s mother opened the oven door, she was confronted with the horrifying sight of her daughter’s “charred remains.”
“Imagine the horror that her mother experienced who herself opened the oven,” a family spokesperson wrote on a fundraiser page set up by the Maritime Sikh Society to support the grieving family.
The exact circumstances surrounding Kaur’s death remain under investigation by Halifax Regional Police, in collaboration with Occupational Health and Safety and the Medical Examiner’s Office. Authorities have not yet determined whether foul play is suspected.
Police were called to the Walmart at 6990 Mumford Road at around 9:30 p.m. that night, and investigations are ongoing. Constable Martin Cromwell confirmed that updates on the case would be shared as they become available.
Kaur was a beloved member of Halifax’s Sikh community, having moved to Canada only a few years ago. Walmart Canada has expressed condolences and is providing grief counseling to staff members affected by the tragedy.
This devastating loss has left her family and community in shock, as they mourn the young woman whose life was cut tragically short.
