Dad stabbed to death in front of his daughter, 3, outside Starbucks after ‘asking man not to vape near his toddler’
A DAD was knifed to death outside Starbucks after asking a man not to vape in front of his toddler daughter, his family say.
Paul Schmidt, 37, was fatally wounded while visiting the coffee shop with daughter Erica, three, in Vancouver, Canada.
Horrifying video posted showed the moment the attacker lunged at Paul at 5.30pm on Sunday.
He was seen staggering while clutching his stomach and collapsing in a pool of blood in front of Erica and his fiancée Ashley Umali.
Paul’s mum Kathy Schmidt said she was told that the suspect – identified as 32-year-old Inderdeep Singh Gosa – knifed her son after he asked him not to vape in front of Erica.
“This is so horribly wrong what happened,” she told the Vancouver Sun.
“He was just trying to protect his daughter. I’m angry and I’m sad.
“It all started because he was vaping beside the baby. Ashley’s in shock – she watched the whole thing. She’s so devastated.”
Gosa was arrested inside Starbucks shortly after the stabbing and has been charged with second-degree murder.
Kathy said she was shocked no one rushed to help her dying son.
She told CityNews: “It wasn’t until basically he was in dire straits that somebody flagged down an officer on the sidewalk.
“What kind of world are we living in when you take your family to Starbucks in the middle of the afternoon and you’re attacked and killed, with many people standing around videotaping and watching?”
Cops said an officer on patrol was flagged down after Paul was knifed following a “brief altercation”.
Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward.
“There’s a significant amount of evidence to tell us what happened,” police spokesman Sergeant Steve Addison said.
“What we are focusing on now is why did this happen.
“What are the events that transpired in the moments leading up to this very serious crime.”
Schmidt had worked at Jiffy Move, a moving company in Burnaby, for about five years.
Sean Collings, the company’s operations manager, told the Vancouver Sun: “Paul was a great guy and a hard worker. He was a devoted husband and father.”
Public Safety Minister Mike Farnsworth said police were doing everything possible to investigate the senseless attack.
“I don’t think there are words that can describe just how terrible and just horrible what happened – it is awful,” he said.
“What I hope now is that the individual, who is obviously in custody, will face criminal charges.”
Investigators do not believe the victim and suspect knew each other.