A man has been convicted of manslaughter following a fatal incident outside a coffee shop in Vancouver in March 2023. Inderdeep Singh Gosal faced charges of second-degree murder in the death of Paul Schmidt, who was stabbed six times in a confrontation captured on video and widely shared online.
Justice Kathleen Ker described the event as “shocking, violent, and traumatic.” According to Ker, Gosal was sitting on the Starbucks patio smoking a joint when Schmidt, pushing his daughter in a stroller, confronted Gosal about smoking, leading to a physical altercation where Schmidt attacked Gosal.
The altercation, witnessed by multiple individuals and recorded on cellphones and CCTV cameras, led to Gosal being charged with second-degree murder. During the trial, Gosal’s defense argued for a manslaughter conviction, attributing the attack to an overreaction due to mental illness rather than a deliberate intent to kill.
The court heard that Gosal, who has schizophrenia, had stopped taking his medication months before the incident. He claimed that finding a knife in an alley was a divine sign for self-protection. However, inconsistencies in Gosal’s statements, including discrepancies about the knife purchase and alcohol consumption, were highlighted by the prosecution.
Based on the evidence, particularly CCTV footage, Justice Ker determined that Schmidt was the initial aggressor in the altercation. Gosal resorted to using a knife from his pocket only after Schmidt had gained the upper hand in the confrontation, with the entire physical struggle lasting 28 seconds.