'Our family has been destroyed': Family mourns teen who died after assault at Edmonton high school

The family of an Edmonton teen who was assaulted outside his high school is grieving and remembering him as a fun, outgoing, and loving family member.

After spending a week in hospital, Karanveer Sahota, 16, died from his injuries Friday.

He was known affectionately as Karan, the second youngest in the family, who liked to produce music and play basketball.

"Our family has been destroyed," cousin Monica Binns told CTV News Edmonton.

Binns said Sahota was at the bus stop outside of McNally High School on April 8 when he was attacked by several youths.

"(They) beat him with something and also stabbed his main organs," said Shivleen Sidhu, another cousin. "It repeats over and over how scared he must've been. How much pain he must've been (in) and how much he must've probably wanted to be just at home with his mom."

On Sunday, the Edmonton Police Service said a "number" of youth suspects had been identified and that further information about the investigation was "forthcoming."

'HE WAS SUCH A GOOD KID'

An autopsy is scheduled for April 20, which will determine the cause of death and take place just days before the boy's scheduled funeral.

"The last faces he saw were of the men, of the boys, that did this to him and that's not fair," Binns said. "I think any 16-year-old who's going to die this way should die with people around him that love him, not in the middle of a field."

Sidhu said family members were in shock after hearing what happened to Sahota.

"For three, four days, we didn't really understand," Sidhu said. "We were planning on how to deal with the aftermath of everything and how to support our little cousin."

"We thought he was going to walk out of there," Binns added.

Binns said her cousin was someone who looked after his family and tried to help around the house.

"He would cook for his mom and his sister. He'd cook for his friends when they came over," Binns said. "All he cared about was looking after his sister and his mom.

"He was such a good kid," she added. "He never gave her (his mom) any reason to worry."

Sahota's cousins say much of their healing will lie in the hands of the justice system, as well as the search for answers.

"A question I'm going to ask them, the ones that did it: 'You tell me why you did this,'" Binns said. 

The deadly attack was addressed at a board meeting of Edmonton Public Schools Tuesday.

Chair Trisha Estabrooks offered an emotional statement of condolences to Sahota's family.

"We are also thinking of the entire McNally school community and those who are grieving and we know are also seeking answers at this difficult time," she said.

"Police are investigating, and yet it’s so tough to comprehend how something so violent could happen at one of our schools."

EPS said an update will be provided Tuesday after the autopsy is completed.