Second-degree murder charge laid in fatal 2022 stabbing outside Surrey high school

Homicide investigators say a charge has been laid in connection with the fatal stabbing of an 18-year-old outside a Surrey high school in 2022.

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) says an 18-year-old was charged with second-degree murder on Nov. 21, 2023.

“As the suspect was a youth at the time of the incident, his name will not be disclosed at this time,” said Sgt. Timothy Pierotti on Tuesday.

The stabbing happened on Nov. 22, 2022, outside Tamanawis Secondary. At the time, the victim, Mehakpreet Sethi, was picking up his younger sibling from school to go shopping when another teen approached and stabbed him, Sethi’s sister told OMNI News on June 15, 2023.

IHIT has previously said Sethi was found with life-threatening injuries at the scene. Despite efforts from first responders, he succumbed to those injuries “shortly thereafter.”

Following the stabbing, IHIT said a 17-year-old boy, who was a student at the school, was arrested in connection with the incident.

Then, on June 14, 2023, police announced they had arrested “a suspect in relation to the murder of Mr. Sethi,” though it was not clear at the time whether both people taken into custody were the same.

“We can say at this point that the two were known to each other, it was not a random attack, though it was an isolated incident,” Pierotti said.

“I understand a situation like this can be troubling for families who have students. This was an isolated incident, this is not something that we believe is an ongoing threat to anyone. This was a tragic incident and I can understand how, for families, this would be really hard for them. Mr. Sethi was a young man, 18 years old, just starting his life. He aspired to be in the army, to serve his country, and his life was taken far too early.”

The motive behind the stabbing is not clear.