TORONTO - The teenage killer in a murder-suicide in Mississauga died a frequently picked on, lovesick and depressed loner from a broken home.
That is how students at Mississauga Secondary School on Monday were remembering schoolmate Akash Wadhwa, 16, who died in hospital Sunday — two days after plunging onto Hwy 401 from the Mavis overpass.
Not long after the Grade 12 student fell from the bridge on Friday, police discovered the body of 17-year-old Kiranjit Nijjar in a nearby ravine in the Courtneypark Dr. W. and Mavis Rd. area. Peel police confirmed on Monday it was a murder-suicide.
Speculation has swirled among students at the school that it was a case of unrequited love: Wadhwa wanted a romantic relationship with Nijjar, but the latter wanted nothing more than friendship.
The upbeat and congenial Nijjar may have been the often-downcast Wadhwa’s few friends. “He was picked on,” said Ahmad Bostani, who took math class with Wadhwa, adding the loner would be taunted for the clothes he wore and his tall, lanky frame.
He was “skinny but lots of depression could lead to (that),” the boy said. A father of a student identifying himself only as Gurpreet said he’d heard Wadhwa’s folks split some time ago, and that his dad left Canada for their native India.
“He kept things inside. I heard that his dad went away a few years ago, so that could be it,” said Alexia, a Grade 11 student at Mississauga Secondary. “It could’ve triggered him to go off.”
Makeshift memorials of candles, cards and flowers adorned three different locations in the parkette Monday. All through the morning and afternoon, students of various grade levels wound their way along the park’s path to the hallowed spots.
“(Wadhwa) always had a dark look in his eyes, I never saw him smile,” said a girl named Meagan, who took drama class with the teen.
Meanwhile at the school, grief counsellors were on hand for both students and staff.
“This is a day for them to grieve,” said Brian Woodland, Peel District School Board spokesman. “From the first student who arrived this morning, you could see it on their faces … trying to cope with the loss of a (school) member.”
That is how students at Mississauga Secondary School on Monday were remembering schoolmate Akash Wadhwa, 16, who died in hospital Sunday — two days after plunging onto Hwy 401 from the Mavis overpass.
Not long after the Grade 12 student fell from the bridge on Friday, police discovered the body of 17-year-old Kiranjit Nijjar in a nearby ravine in the Courtneypark Dr. W. and Mavis Rd. area. Peel police confirmed on Monday it was a murder-suicide.
Speculation has swirled among students at the school that it was a case of unrequited love: Wadhwa wanted a romantic relationship with Nijjar, but the latter wanted nothing more than friendship.
The upbeat and congenial Nijjar may have been the often-downcast Wadhwa’s few friends. “He was picked on,” said Ahmad Bostani, who took math class with Wadhwa, adding the loner would be taunted for the clothes he wore and his tall, lanky frame.
He was “skinny but lots of depression could lead to (that),” the boy said. A father of a student identifying himself only as Gurpreet said he’d heard Wadhwa’s folks split some time ago, and that his dad left Canada for their native India.
“He kept things inside. I heard that his dad went away a few years ago, so that could be it,” said Alexia, a Grade 11 student at Mississauga Secondary. “It could’ve triggered him to go off.”
Makeshift memorials of candles, cards and flowers adorned three different locations in the parkette Monday. All through the morning and afternoon, students of various grade levels wound their way along the park’s path to the hallowed spots.
“(Wadhwa) always had a dark look in his eyes, I never saw him smile,” said a girl named Meagan, who took drama class with the teen.
Meanwhile at the school, grief counsellors were on hand for both students and staff.
“This is a day for them to grieve,” said Brian Woodland, Peel District School Board spokesman. “From the first student who arrived this morning, you could see it on their faces … trying to cope with the loss of a (school) member.”
