Man charged with 1st-degree murder in fatal shooting of U of T student on Scarborough campus: police

A man has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting of a student on University of Toronto's Scarborough campus (UTSC) last month, police say.

Babatunde Afuwape, a 28-year-old Toronto man, is accused of fatally shooting 20-year-old Shivank Avasthi on a popular campus trail on Dec. 23, Det.-Sgt. Stacey McCabe said at a news conference Wednesday.

Around 3:30 p.m. that day, officers were called to the area of Highland Creek Trail and Old Kingston Road for unknown trouble, Toronto police said last month.

Upon arrival, Toronto police found Avasthi with a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The shooting was Toronto's 41st homicide of 2025.

Attack may have been random, police say

Investigators are still working to determine a motive, as police believe Afuwape and Avasthi were not known to each other, McCabe said Wednesday. She said police believe the shooting may have been random.

"He was there to kill somebody, is our belief. I'm not sure how he chose Avasthi," she said.

Afuwape had been on the campus for about an hour before the shooting, McCabe said. She said police don't know his employment status, but they don't believe he was a student.

Afuwape was arrested on Dec. 28 for breech of parole, which was issued for firearm offences, McCabe said. He was scheduled to appear in court earlier this week, police said in a news release Wednesday.

Avasthi was a third-year University of Toronto student from India, McCabe said.

"He was young, bright, and had his whole life ahead of him. Our thoughts remain with his family, friends and classmates," she said. "This was a deeply tragic case."

The university's cheerleading and powerlifting clubs both posted tributes to Avasthi on social media in the days following the shooting, both saying he had a way of lifting others up with his positivity.