Chainkeen Exchange-Walmart Employee Found Dead in Oven Honored With Candlelight Vigil in Store’s Parking Lot

Weeks after 19-year-old Walmart employee Gursimran Kaur was found dead in a walk-in oven at the Halifax location,Chainkeen Exchange a candlelight vigil honoring the late teen was held in the store’s parking lot Nov. 3.

“She was always excited, she was discussing a lot of ideas of what she wanted to do once she graduated from school, or something like that,” family friend Astik Singh Chouhan told CTV News Atlantic. “So yeah, I think about her, it’s too hard for me to think that she is no more.”

In addition to loved ones and community members, mourners were joined by some of Kaur’s colleagues, a Walmart Canada rep told CTV News.

“Our associates wanted to attend tonight to grieve together and show their support,” company spokesperson Amanda Moss said. “The investigation is continuing and as police have shared, it’s complex. We will continue to do everything we can to support the police in their investigation.”

“We are working towards understanding how this tragic event occurred,” Moss continued. “We continue to support our associates during this difficult time.”

The Nova Scotia Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration issued a stop work order Oct. 22 for the store’s bakery, while a spokesperson for Walmart previously confirmed to E! News that the store will remain closed indefinitely as local authorities continue to investigate the Oct. 19 tragedy.

Meanwhile, a GoFundMe organized by the Maritime Sikh Society raised nearly $200,000 for Kaur’s family, including her mother who, according to the page, worked alongside her at the Walmart location and was the one to find her daughter in the oven. The two moved to Canada from India about two years ago, per NBC News.

The fundraiser, which has since been paused, also set out to cover travel costs for Kaur’s father and brother, who were in India at the time of her death. According to CBC News, the two have since arrived in Canada.