College remembers slain security guard as documents show criminal history of pair charged

Vigil for slain security guard Family, friends and teachers remember a 20-year-old security guard who was shot and killed last week. Nav Sangha reports.

A vigil was held Thursday at Norquest College for a security guard who was killed at an Edmonton apartment building last Friday.

Hundreds of students lit candles and placed flowers at a memorial at the school.

Harshandeep Singh, 20, was killed at the building at 107 Avenue and 106 Street early Friday morning.

He had come to Canada from India and was studying business administration at Norquest.

Teachers remember a polite and studious young man.

"We lose a very humble, nice and very brave young man," said family friend Gulzar Singh Nirman.

"It's really hard for us to process. Everyone here is grieving," Singh's teacher Gayle St. Denis said.

"He was an absolute joy to have. He was eager to learn and he was really focused on his studies."

Friends say Singh dreamed of becoming an officer with the Edmonton Police Service.

"Without a question, Harshandeep actually just wanted to serve Canada," family friend Jas Panesar said.

Singh was working only the third shift at his new job as a security guard at the building when he was killed.

The last message he sent to his security company before his death read "Fight on fourth floor. Ran away after seeing security. A man got injured, refusing to call 911."

Evan Rain, 30, and Judith Saulteaux, 30, are charged with first-degree murder in Singh's death.

A bail hearing for the pair was scheduled for Wednesday, but a decision has been put over until Jan. 8.

'Propensity for violence'

Both Rain and Saulteaux have extensive criminal histories.

Saulteaux has been convicted in at least eight cases dating back to 2013 and was sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison on aggravated assault charges filed in 2015.

Documents from the Parole Board of Canada obtained by CTV News Edmonton show Rain has violent convictions dating back to 2010 including robbery, uttering threats, assault, kidnapping using a restricted or prohibited firearm.

"You demonstrate a pattern of propensity for violence since 2010, to deal with interpersonal issues and many are impulsive in nature," the document reads. "File information speaks to your inability to control your anger."

When he was 28, Rain received his first federal sentence of just over three years in prison for driving, weapons, drug and assault charges.

The board noted while Rain was serving his sentence, he was involved in assaulting inmates on two occasions, resulting in two convictions for assault causing bodily harm.

As a result of the assaults, he was transferred to a maximum security facility.

After the transfer, he was involved in another assault and he was found in possession of homemade weapons on three different occasions, according to the documents.

On March 15, 2022, he was granted statutory release with conditions to a community-based residential facility pending the end of his sentence.

By June 2022 his overnight leave privileges had been revoked after the board found he had used meth three days after his release and later possessed dangerous homemade weapons.

"You were only in the community a few days before you bought drugs," the board said.

"Your use of drugs is a direct contributing factor in your offending."

Calls for change

Singh's death has raised questions about safety and training of security guards.

His family and friends have shared their concerns with local leaders, hoping for stricter sentences for repeat offenders.

"We lost one Harshandeep, but we do not want to lose anyone else," Nirman said.

Alberta's public safety minister says the province is reviewing policies to improve and enhance safety and says the solution lies in having more police.

"We will do whatever it takes to keep Albertans safe and that's why we'll continue to support law enforcement right across this province," Mike Ellis said.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Nav Sangha