28-Year-Old Canada-Based Nigerian Charged With First Degree Murder in U of T Campus Shooting.

A 28-year-old Canada-based Nigerian, Babatunde Afuwape, has been charged with first-degree murder following the fatal shooting of Shivank Avasthi, a 20-year-old University of Toronto student, on the Scarborough campus on December 23.
Police say investigations are ongoing and that the motive remains unknown.
Friends of Shivank remember him as a bright, gentle, and caring young man whose positivity lit up every room he entered. His tragic death has shaken not only the university community, but also families across Canada—especially newcomers and immigrants who came here seeking safety, opportunity, and a better future for their children.
For many immigrant families, this incident is a painful reminder that integration goes beyond jobs, papers, and survival. It calls for deeper conversations about parenting, guidance, and community responsibility. As newcomers, we often work long hours trying to build stability, but we must also make time to know our children, listen to them, guide them, and model values of respect, empathy, and accountability.
Raising responsible citizens in a new country requires intentional parenting, community support, and open dialogue about challenges young people face—identity struggles, peer pressure, mental health, and choices that can alter lives forever.
This tragedy is not about pointing fingers or stigmatizing communities. It is about reflection, learning, and collective responsibility. One life has been lost, and many lives are forever changed. The goal must be to ensure fewer families ever have to experience such pain again.
As the legal process continues, our thoughts remain with the family and loved ones of Shivank Avasthi. May his memory remind us why community care, strong family bonds, and responsible upbringing matter now more than ever.