{"id":160142,"date":"2026-08-07T23:47:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:47:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/160142\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:47:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:47:19","slug":"community-mourns-edmonton-homicide-victim-in-suspected-liquor-store-robbery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/160142\/","title":{"rendered":"Community mourns Edmonton homicide victim in suspected liquor store robbery"},"content":{"rendered":"

Local business owners say they are worried and shocked after a Wednesday slaying of a 48-year-old liquor store owner<\/a> in Edmonton’s Cromdale neighbourhood.<\/p>\n

Varinder Bhullar met Connect Liquor owner Sukhjit (Sunny) Randhawa through business circles and described him as a “genuine and gentle” person who would go out of his way to help anyone.<\/p>\n

“It’s very sad to hear when someone is not safe at their own business that they’ve set up with their hard work, and someone comes in and takes their life away,” said Bhullar in a phone call with Postmedia on Friday morning.<\/p>\n

Bhullar said Randhawa attempted to stop a man from stealing liquor from his store and locked the main doors when he was allegedly attacked.<\/p>\n

Randhawa was treated by emergency crews, who arrived on scene, but later died in hospital.<\/p>\n

Edmonton police have arrested and charged Nicholas Butler-Chowace, 22, with second-degree murder. Investigators are withholding Randhawa’s cause of death for investigative purposes.<\/p>\n

“This is a big loss for our community. There’s that uncomfortable feeling of, ‘It could be me next,’ ” said Bhullar.<\/p>\n

Lexy Miran, who works at the reception desk at Touch of Thai Massage Therapy, said she didn’t know Randhawa well, but her interactions with him were always positive.<\/p>\n

“We’re all shocked. It was just a normal day, and then for this to happen just a few doors down from our store. It’s devastating. I feel for the family,” said Miran.<\/p>\n

Miran has been working at Touch of Thai for three years, and she said there are incidents that she and her staff have to deal with on a regular basis. She said she’s worried for her and the staff’s safety.<\/p>\n

She said on several occasions, people walked into her workplace and stole clients’ shoes and other items.<\/p>\n

“This neighbourhood is dangerous,” said Miran.<\/p>\n

“I don’t feel safe \u2026 now myself and other employees don’t feel safe to even take out the garbage, because it’s near the liquor store.”<\/p>\n

\"Just<\/p>\n

Just before 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 5, downtown patrol officers responded to the report of an injured man in the area of 112 Avenue and 82 Street. Upon arrival, they located a 48-year-old man suffering from serious injuries who later died in hospital.<\/p>\n

Sara Froutan, who works in the pharmacy at Galaxy Medical Clinic, said she and the staff at the clinic initially didn’t hear anything, but got concerned when ambulances and police cruisers arrived on scene.<\/p>\n

Froutan said she’s had experiences where people will come in and attempt to steal products, and staff do their best to handle the situation.<\/p>\n

“This area can be a dangerous place. We just try to stay calm and diffuse the situation. If it gets serious and they try to threaten us, we call police,” said Froutan.<\/p>\n

Postmedia contacted the owner of Little Caesars, located next door to Connect Liquor, and while they didn’t want their name disclosed, they said they originally bought the business from Randhawa a few years ago, and said he was always a pleasure to deal with.<\/p>\n

“All of my staff are so scared, and I don’t know what to say. We put our heart and soul into our business. This happened right inside his business,” they said.<\/p>\n

They said their business currently stays open until midnight, but now they’re considering closing earlier due to safety concerns.<\/p>\n

“I know this happened in the afternoon, but this is scary for all of us. We’re heartbroken. Now I think I’m going to have to change the store hours. I don’t want to put my employees’ lives at risk for anything,” they said.<\/p>\n

All of the business owners and employees that Postmedia contacted in the area said they have safety concerns and more emphasis needs to be placed on mental health, and more resources need to be brought forward to help.<\/p>\n

“We have to take some kind of action,” they said.<\/p>\n

“We need some kind of plan, so that something like this doesn’t happen in the future.”<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

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