Fundraiser for family of man slain outside Starbucks reaches $135K

A fundraiser for the family of a Metro Vancouver father brutally murdered on a Starbucks patio this weekend has raised more than $135,000 for his daughter.

Paul Schmidt was waiting outside the Starbucks Reserve cafe at Pender and Granville streets on Sunday afternoon when the violence broke out. His fiance was inside getting drinks, and Schmidt may have asked a man nearby to stop vaping near his daughter — a three-year-old who was in a stroller.

The man stabbed Paul, and he collapsed outside the cafe in a tragic killing captured on video by witnesses.

Vancouver’s Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden Society quickly stepped up to organize a fundraiser for Schmidt’s partner and daughter, who witnessed him being murdered. The executive director is close with cousins of the family and is trying to raise $200,000 to help the family through this difficult time.

GoFundMe

So far, more than $135,000 has poured in, and Schmidt’s partner, Ashley, said the family is “extremely grateful and touched.”

The majority of funds will be held for her daughter in trust, the Dr.Sun Yat-Sen Garden Society said in a GoFundMe update.

“Thank you all so much for the outpouring of love and support,” the society said. “The road ahead will be very difficult and all your support will make the journey for Ashley and her daughter less challenging.”

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Schmidt lived with his family in Burnaby and worked for a moving company.

The suspect was arrested at the scene, and police said the next day that 32-year-old Inderdeep Singh Gosal was charged with second-degree murder. He’ll appear in court on April 11.

“It was just such a senseless crime,” Paul’s mother, Kathy Adams Schmidt, told Daily Hive this week. “It’s absolutely devastating.”

She remembers her son as a rambunctious boy who grew into a man who was beautiful inside and out. He loved the outdoors and spending time with his partner and daughter.

“He lived for his family,” Kathy said. “He didn’t deserve to die.”