'Scared and shattered': Family says Edmonton man killed, daughter shot in random home invasion

GRAPHIC WARNING: This article contains details readers may find disturbing.

Jasjeet Kaur recalls being in a deep sleep just hours after ringing in 2023 when she says she was jolted awake by banging, yelling and gunshots in her southeast Edmonton home.

"All of the sudden there was just a noise. Somebody broke into the house. They just broke the door. We were scared and shattered," she told CTV News Edmonton Thursday.

That's when Jasjeet says her husband Barinder Singh, the man the family calls "papa," left their bedroom to see what was going on.

"They randomly started shooting. Like gunshots were there. I heard few, but I don't know how many," Jasjeet recalls.

She was screaming in the bedroom, pleading for help. When everything went quiet, she went to see if Singh was OK.

"He was lying on the floor in a pool of blood. I tried to shake him, just asking him to wake up," she said.

At that point, she recalls looking up and seeing her youngest daughter also covered in blood.

"She was standing in front of me like a statue. She just said to me…in my own language…'I also have a wound. I got a bullet shot,'" Jasjeet said.

"She didn't scream. When she got the shot, she didn't even scream. She was frozen."

'STILL WORKING TO ESTABLISH MOTIVE'

Police officers were called to the home near 16A Avenue and 38 Street around 2:45 a.m.

Both Singh and his daughter Tavneet Kaur were rushed to hospital where he died. An autopsy confirmed he was killed by gunshots.

EPS officers investigating the death of a man early New Year's Day in west Edmonton. (Sean McClune/CTV News Edmonton)Homicide detectives "continue to pursue several avenues related to this incident and are still working to establish motive," a spokesperson with Edmonton Police Service said Thursday.

EPS would not provide any further information on the case.

A burned-out white 2012 Dodge Ram truck found near 24 Street and 14 Avenue later that day is believed to be connected.

The family insists it had to be a random attack because they have no enemies in Canada or India, where they recently moved from.

'I NEED THE ANSWER, WHY?'

"We are living simple life with simple workplaces," Jasjeet said.

A shot hit her daughter in the shoulder.

"One of the nerves are damaged. My three fingers are not working. My ribs are broken," Tavneet explained.

The eldest daughter was also home. She hid in a closet with the family dog.

"I came out and in a low pitch I asked, 'Is anybody alive?' That was my first line that I said, 'Is anybody there?'" Prabhleen Kaur said.

"It just happened like a game. Like you were finding people in the house, killing them and just going away without taking anything."

Jasjeet says Singh was a hard worker who had a small group of friends. He always insisted on feeding his friends when they came over.

Jasjeet Kaur and her husband Barinder Singh (Credit: Jasjeet Kaur.)He wouldn't even speed in his car, she said, and often told his girls to walk away from any conflict they came upon.

She can't think of anyone who would want to harm him or their family.

"I can never expect in my life this kind of thing happening to my family. And not in this kind of country. We considered Canada a very safe country," Jasjeet said.

Tavneet said although she was shot, she cannot remember what happened that night, and didn't see who shot her. She said she may have been out of bed to go to the washroom at the time.

"He was a great man. He used to cook food for me. He loved cooking," she said through tears.

"I need the answer, why? And obviously that why will not be justified, at all."

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Amanda Anderson