5 dead in Calgary stabbings, police say

Apr. 15, 2014: Police investigate the scene of a multiple fatal stabbing in northwest Calgary, Alberta.

CALGARY, Alberta –  Five people were killed and a suspect taken into custody after multiple stabbings at a house party attended by university students near the University of Calgary, the police chief said, calling it the worst mass murder in Calgary's history.
Police Chief Rick Hanson said the suspect is the son of a 33-year veteran of the Calgary police force and a student at the University of Calgary.
"We have never seen five people killed at one scene," Hanson said. "The scene was horrific."
Hanson said the suspect was invited to the party and shortly after arriving picked up a large knife and began stabbing the victims one by one early Tuesday morning. He said about 20 people were at the party when the stabbings occurred.
Hanson said the victims ages range from 22 to 27. He said the dead were all "good kids"
The police chief said they would not release the name of the suspect until first-degree murder charges are announced later Tuesday. He said the suspect left his work at a grocery store before arriving to the party.
Police said three males were found dead at the home. A male and a female died at a local hospital.
Police said the suspect, in his 20s, was arrested with the help of the police canine unit about 40 minutes after the stabbings and that he was taken to hospital for treatment for dog bites.
There was no immediate word on charges or the possible motive. Hanson said the suspect brought a weapon, but used a knife from the house.
Hanson said the father of the suspect is devastated.
Multiple witnesses were taken to the campus and are currently being interviewed by detectives, police said.
The blue-sided house where the stabbings occurred is on a quiet, tree-lined residential street. It was surrounded with yellow police tape as medical examiner staff brought three bodies out on stretchers.
Neighbors in the area say the house was being rented by University of Calgary students and that the party was related to the student union's annual Bermuda Shorts Day, held Monday.
Bermuda Shorts Day, shortened by students to BSD, is an annual outdoor party on campus with live music and beer gardens to celebrate the final day of classes.
The school's student newspaper, The Gauntlet, wrote about the tradition two weeks ago in a story titled "BSD: It'll be a bloodbath."
On Twitter, many students wrote about how they started drinking early in the morning Monday and continued after the campus event at parties elsewhere.
University of Calgary President Elizabeth Cannon said they are "deeply saddened" by the news. Cannon said it was a house party off campus.
"This is a terrible, terrible tragedy," Cannon said. "It's young people who have lost their lives at a very critical point in their lifetimes. It's a huge impact on all of us."
Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi took to Twitter to offer condolences.
"Thoughts and prayers of all Calgarians are with the young people we lost this morning, their families, friends, and university community," the mayor said.
Just outside Toronto, meanwhile, a student was stabbed in a school and two were arrested. Police said the 17-year-old victim has non-life threatening injuries.

Five killed in 'worst mass murder' in Calgary's history:

Matthew de Grood, 23, ID'd as suspect in Calgary's worst mass murder

The man suspected of fatally stabbing five people in their 20s at a northwest Calgary house party is the son of a veteran police officer, according to the chief of police.

• Calgary stabbing: Reactions pour in after 'senseless tragedy'

Matthew de Grood, 23, is in custody after four males and a female died following the early-morning stabbings in the city’s Brentwood neighbourhood, just north of the University of Calgary campus. 

Matthew de Grood, 23, is expected to be charged with five counts of first-degree murder after five people were stabbed to death at a house party early Tuesday morning. (St. Francis High School yearbook)

Calgary Police Services Chief Rick Hanson said de Grood will likely be charged with five counts of first-degree murder later this afternoon.

The stabbings happened around 1:20 a.m. MT on Tuesday at a house party celebrating the end of university classes, police said.

"This is the worst mass murder in Calgary's history," said Hanson at a news conference Tuesday.

De Grood, who attended the University of Calgary, was planning to attend law school, according to multiple sources. 

“We understand the party was for friends and people of the university and the suspect was an invited guest," said Hanson.

The attacks happened shortly after his arrival at the party, he said.

“The suspect arrived at the party, obtained a large knife and targeted the victims one by one, stabbing them,” said Hanson. 

There is nothing to indicate that there was any incident that led up to the event, or that de Grood had consumed drugs or alcohol. It's believed he came to the party directly from work, said Hanson.

• 

1 of 15

The suspect did have a weapon — which police referred to as "an instrument" — that he carried with him, which police believe he brought from work. 

"Primarily the weapon that was used was one that was obtained in the house," Hanson said. 

The victims were identified as a 22-year-old man from Priddis, Alta., a 23-year-old woman from Calgary, two 23-year-old men from Calgary and a 27-year-old man from Calgary. Police are trying to alert the families of all the victims. 

None of the victims, nor the suspect, have any past history with police, said Hanson.

There will be a vigil at the university's MacEwan Hall from 4:40 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. MT, according to the students' union.

End of classes celebration 

According to neighbours, the people at the house had been celebrating the last day of university classes with a fire in a home's backyard. 

Bermuda Shorts Day festivities to mark the end of the University of Calgary’s winter semester have been a campus tradition since 1960.

Three people were pronounced dead at the scene. A female was found injured on the lawn, while two others were taken to hospital in critical, life-threatening condition, and later died, officials said.

One other person suffered minor injuries.

The three bodies in the house were taken away by officials from the medical examiner’s office around mid-morning. 

No names will be released until autopsies have been completed, police said.

Suspect arrested 

The suspect fled on foot but police arrested him about 40 minutes later with assistance from the K-9 unit. Investigators are not looking for any more suspects. 

The suspect was taken to hospital to be treated for a dog bite.

The homicide unit is leading the investigation with assistance from the forensics team as a heavy police presence remained in the neighbourhood Tuesday. 

Detectives took several witnesses to a police station to be interviewed. 

No previous problems at house

Nearby resident Doug Jones told CBC News he noticed about 12 to 20 university-aged people at the backyard party.

“When it started to get dark, they moved inside and once inside, you wouldn’t even be able to tell there was anything really even going on. It wasn’t loud at all,” he said.

The homicide unit is investigating after five people in their 20s were stabbed to death in Calgary. The stabbings occurred at an address in Brentwood early Tuesday morning. (Kyle Bakx/CBC)

"We’ve never had any problems over there."

Jones, who lives next door, said he thinks there are at least three students who live in the house. He said his bedroom door looks out on their backyard.

“What really touches me about it is how it can happen. I mean, we never heard a thing.”

Jones said Brentwood is an “old-fashioned neighbourhood."

“Nothing ever happens here because we’re in a crescent, we don’t get any other traffic other than people that live here, people that are coming to visit,” he said.

“It’s pretty shocking, it just goes to show it can happen anywhere.” 

"The University of Calgary is mourning the loss of five young people killed early this morning in Brentwood," the school said in a written release, promising to provide further comment once more details are confirmed. 

The university is offering counselling to students, faculty and staff affected by the tragedy. They are encouraged to go to the university's wellness centre in classroom MSC 370 or contact sar@ucalgary.ca.

“Our thoughts and condolences go out to the families and friends of all those affected,” said Raphael Jacob, president of the university's students’ union.

Horrifying tales of Punjabi youths stuck in Texas jail

Chandigarh/Jalandhar, April 13
The well-oiled human trafficking network and business, involving the ferrying of hundreds or thousands of Punjabis to North America, is alive and kicking. Unscrupulous travel agents operating from the USA and New Delhi are minting money from these shady deals.

As many as 64 Punjabi youths, who travelled across more than half the world in search of greener pastures, have been detained in El-Paso processing centre (jail) in Texas, USA.

Forty-two of them are on hunger strike against their prolonged detention and the jail authorities’ “inhuman” action of withdrawing communication and other facilities to them. The startling revelations made by some detainees there and their families in the Doaba region of Punjab has indicated that human smuggling to the USA by travel agents from India is going on unabated.

Speaking to The Tribune from Vancouver, Canada, Jarnail Singh, father of one of the detainees -- Amritpal Singh Aulakh of Kanpur village, said that he has already paid Rs 22 lakh to an agent in instalments. “Amritpal did not get a direct flight to Mexico. He had to pass through Dubai, Ecuador and Guatemala. From Mexico, he crossed over to Texas, USA, on foot,” said Jarnail.
He said that all the detainees have been observing a hunger strike for the past six days to protest against their 10-month-long detention. “I have hired a legal representative in the US for his release and $9000 have already been paid. He has already lost his first appeal,” Jarnail said. Satnam Singh Chahal, executive director of the North American Punjabi Association (NAPA), managed -- after many determined attempts -- to have a conversation with the detainees.
He said that the youngsters -- in the age group of 22 to 27 years -- were determined to continue with their hunger strike till their release.
“There is zero evidence that any of the detainees has a criminal background,” said Chahal speaking to The Tribune from California.
The families back home are so scared that they are not ready to identify the agents involved in trafficking of youths. Ranvijay Singh, father of Harpreet Singh, said that he has already paid Rs 20 lakh to the agent. He said that he had got a call from his son around 20 days ago.
On the reasons behind his son’s illegal migration to the USA, he alleged that the Punjab police were trying to implicate his son in some false cases on the basis of his alleged links with some terrorist organisation.
“I have already suffered as a result of such accusations in the period of militancy. So, I decided to send him abroad.”
Reaching Mexico -- from where the youths would cross over to the US -- is no less than a tough task. The young men had to walk miles through the jungles and difficult terrain in Guatemala. “Some of them told me that they had reached Mexico via Moscow, Suriname in South America and Nicaragua in Central America. They were huddled into a truck that ferried them to Honduras and Guatemala. In Mexico, they were forced to live in a small dingy room for over two months in an undisclosed small township,” said Satnam Singh Chahal.
Sources in the booming “trade” revealed that there were two major routes -- from New Delhi to Moscow and from New Delhi to Istanbul -- by air. Once the youths landed in Moscow or Istanbul, agents ferried them to Mexico via various countries of Europe or South Africa.
At times, youths (mostly from India and Pakistan) were concealed in containers -- having little air or almost no food and water for days -- for the purpose of shipping them to North America.

Human trafficking

• Victims of human trafficking, 64 Punjabi youths have been detained in El-Paso processing centre (jail) in Texas, USA
• 42 of them are on hunger strike against their prolonged detention and the jail authorities’ inhuman treatment

NRI jailed for life for cold-blooded murder of wife

London - Cold and calculated murder of a young bride from Nawanshahr has resulted in her NRI husband being jailed for life by a British court.

Local media reports have focused on how bank employee Jasvir Ram Ginday (29) killed his wife because he was afraid that she would expose his homosexual preferences.

But little has been told about the promising future that beckoned for 24-year-old Varkha Rani, who had a master’s degree in Information Science and Technology and was the pride and joy of her loving family back in Nawanshahr.

Shortly after Ginday was convicted, Varkha’s cousin, Sunil Kumar said, “No words can truly express the sadness and hurt my family and I are experiencing at the loss of Varkha. She was loved dearly by all, she had a great passion for life and doted on her family.

“Varkha attained a master’s degree and was driven to make her life a success. Unfortunately, she fell prey to Ginday, who had ulterior motives which Varkha would not have appreciated.”

During his trial, members of the jury were told how UK-born Ginday had engaged in sexual relations with men long before his betrothal to 24-year-old Varkha whom he married in order to please his parents.

Varkha had no idea what to expect when she married Ginday last year. But a video taken on her wedding day last March, when she is seen dancing cheek-to-cheek with Ginday, shows her with excited, shining eyes as she prepares for a brand new life in the UK.

But the couple’s relationship started to turn sour only weeks after their wedding. Six months later police found Varkha’s skull, including a few teeth, and her wedding ring inside a mini furnace, or incinerator, bought and installed by her husband in the couple’s garden only a few weeks earlier.

It is understood that Ginday first strangled Varkha with the metal hose of a vacuum cleaner before dousing her body with petrol and stuffing it inside the furnace. For the next 48 hours he used a metal rod to poke and prod Varkha’s remains in a bid to facilitate the burning process.

Neighbours were alerted to the tragedy by the odd smell and thick smoke coming from the couple’s garden. When further investigations were carried out by police, Ginday told them he had been burning leaves. Later, in response to more questions about what was inside the furnace, he replied, “Its food.”

A few days earlier in an attempt to cover up his crime, Ginday filed a police report, saying his wife had taken 500 pounds and abandoned him following a furious marital row. This version of events was rejected by Judge John Warner during the trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court. He told Ginday, “It was a very cruel situation in which you put her.

“You have told lie after lie about a number of matters. It is impossible to rely on anything you say.

“I am satisfied that you intended to kill - you are a devious, controlling man and a meticulous planner in a number of aspects of your life. I do not know for sure how you killed her but the rest afterwards we do know.

“Killing her was a dreadful enough thing to have done, but what followed was horrible almost beyond imagining. “You behaved in an unbelievably casual and callous way with a complete lack of any humanity.

“No one who was in court to hear that evidence will easily put out of their minds, the image of her body being poked and prodded by you down into that incinerator.”

Ukraine crisis: More buildings seized in east

Keiv - Armed men have seized a police station and a security services building in eastern Ukraine, according to officials.

Police said the men fired shots and used stun grenades to seize the offices in Sloviansk, near the Russian border.

Meanwhile, a gun battle has erupted in the eastern Ukrainian town of Kramatorsk, according to the Ukrainian acting interior minister.

Pro-Russian activists have seized government buildings elsewhere in east Ukraine in recent days and Kiev has accused Moscow of orchestrating the unrest.