Gursimran Kaur fundraiser: GoFundMe set up for Walmart girl found dead in walk-in oven raises over $140K
A GoFundMe page, set up for Gursimran Kaur, a 19-year-old Walmart employee found dead in the store's walk-in oven in Mumford Road, Halifax, raised over $140K within days. The collection exceeded the target of $50K, which was achieved in the first 10 hours.
Maritime Sikh Society Executive, who started the fundraiser, announced in an update that they have turned off donations. They added that they were in the process of distributing the funds to the family for funeral costs and travel expenses for Kaur's brother and father, who live in India.
On October 19, Gursimran Kaur was found allegedly burned to death inside the Walmart Bakery's walk-in oven by her mother, who also worked at the same store. Kaur's GoFundMe page described her as "a young beautiful girl who came to Canada with big dreams."
"Gursimran Kaur was only 19 years old, a young beautiful girl who came to Canada with big dreams. On Oct 19th, the fateful Saturday night, she was found burned to death in the walk-in oven at Walmart Bakery situated at Mumford Road, Halifax," the fundraiser bio read.
Police are still investigating Gursimran Kaur's death at Walmart
The Halifax Police are still looking into Gursimran Kaur's death. Constable Martin Cromwell said the investigation was "complex" and "we do not have any updates to provide at this time" in a recent statement to People Magazine. According to CTV News, Kaur's family has requested that the police update them and the public about new developments to quell online conspiracies regarding her death.
According to the Maritime Sikh Society Executive, Kaur's mother was allegedly searching for her daughter after failing to get in touch with her, while at the store. Her mother started panicking as it was odd for the teenager to keep her phone off. The society alleged that her mother found Kaur inside the walk-in oven.
The Daily Mail obtained audio transcriptions of emergency services responding to the incident, which they deemed a “technical rescue call." According to the audio file, the dispatcher said:
“Female is locked in an oven in the bakery, oven is on, unsure if the staff are able to turn it off.”
Moments after that, another person said,
“The person was out of the oven upon arrival.”
There is no further information regarding Kaur's death, including the cause.
The Halifax Walmart store was closed following Gursimran Kaur's death
Amanda Moss, a spokesperson for Walmart, said the staff at the Halifax store were "heartbroken" on hearing about Gursimran Kaur's death. While the store was closed following her death, the company assured all their staff were paid during the leave. In a statement to People Magazine, Moss added:
"Our deepest thoughts are with our associate and their family. Our focus remains on taking care of our associates and making sure they have the support they need. As police have stated, this is a very complex matter and the investigation is ongoing."
Gursimran Kaur was reportedly a member of the Sikh community and had been living in Nova Scotia with her mother for the past three years. Balbir Singh, a Maritime Sikh Society secretary, said that Kaur's death left her mother "shattered" and in psychological pain.
In an interview with CTV News, Singh added, the community was providing counseling for Kaur's mother, further saying:
“The mom is shattered. She’s psychologically in pain, agony. She definitely needs help and support from the community and immediate family members. She is still in a really bad state of mind, but yes, she’s getting all the counselling. We are providing the psychological counselling, and we are trying best to get whatever possible support.”
People have been visiting the Halifax Walmart to pay their respects to Gursimran Kaur after the news of her death spread. Many have left flowers and cards on a post in the store's parking lot.