At a 10:30 am media conference, Detective Sergeant Stacey McCabe provided an update following the December 23 murder of Shivank Avasthi at UTSC.

TPS believes that the suspect was on campus for about an hour prior to the shooting, and shared a still of UTSC video surveillance, showing him walking down a corridor in what appears to be the Arts & Administration (AA) building.

According to McCabe, “members of the Homicide and Missing Persons Unit have worked nonstop to identify and locate the person responsible.” 

Babatunde Afuwape, a 28-year-old male from Toronto, was arrested on December 28 for a parole violation by members of the 55 division and ultimately charged with first degree murder. Afuwape, who was on parole for firearm offenses, is not a student at the university.

According to TPS, the suspect and Avasthi did not know each other prior to the incident, and they have not yet found a motive. TPS believes that the suspect interacted with other people in the hour they spent on campus prior to the shooting, and asks for any information on this individual from December 23. More details to come out in court.

Increased patrolling of UTSC and the Highland Creek Valley will continue, according to an email sent to the UTSC community by President Melanie Woodin and UTSC Principal Linda Johnston. 

In the email, sent following TPS’s announcement, President Melanie Woodin and UTSC Principal Linda Johnston wrote “We are personally heartbroken and know many of you may be feeling a range of emotions in the wake of this senseless violence.”  

In a statement sent to The Varsity, President Melanie Woodin wrote, “This morning the University of Toronto learned of an arrest in the death of Shivank Avasthi, 20, a third-year international student at our Scarborough campus.

We are thankful to the Toronto Police Service and Campus Safety for their dedicated efforts in making an arrest in this senseless act of violence. The individual arrested is not a student at the University of Toronto.

We have expressed our deepest condolences and continue to offer our support to Shivank’s family. As members of our community grieve, a book of condolence will be available for our community to express sorrow and share memories of Shivank, and other commemorations will be communicated in the near future.”

Anyone with information can contact police at 416-808-7400, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com.

Editor’s note: This article was updated on January 7, 2026 to include updates from President Woodin and Principal Johnston.