Babatunde Afuwape, a Nigerian, has been detained by police in connection with the m8rd£r of a University of Toronto student in Canada.
On December 23, 2026, 20-year-old Shivank Avasthi was shot and m8rd£r close to the Scarborough campus.
Around 3:30 p.m. that day, officers were called to the area of Highland Creek Trail and Old Kingston Road for unknown trouble.
When the police arrived, Avisthi had been shot. At the scene, he was declared dead.
Afuwape, 28, was detained and charged with first-degree m8rd£r on January 7, 2026, according to a press conference held at police headquarters.
“This was a deeply tragic case,” said Detective Sergeant Stacey McCabe. “Shivank was a third year U of T student from India. He was young, bright and had his whole life ahead of him. Our thoughts remain with his family, friends, classmates and everyone affected by his loss.”
She said members of the Homicide & Missing Persons Unit have worked tirelessly to identify and locate the person responsible for the senseless act of violence.
“Based on our investigation, we do not believe the accused and the victim were known to each other,” McCabe noted.
“It is our belief that this was a planned and deliberate act by the accused, and we have not yet found a motive for why Shivank was targeted. We recognize that this incident caused a great deal of fear and concern to students, staff and members of the surrounding community, particularly those who regularly use the trail. We want to reassure the community that the person responsible for this is in our custody.”
McCabe is asking anyone who was on the trail on the day of the homicide and may have interacted with the accused to contact police.
“We believe that there may have been more people on the trail or on campus who may have had an interaction with the accused,” McCabe added.
