After her daughter hadn’t been seen for over an hour at Walmart, the mother panicked. For hours she searched frantically, until she made a horrifying discovery

The woman was later identified as Gursimran Kaur – a beautiful young girl who came to Canada with big dreams.

Kaur, who immigrated from India, had worked at Walmart alongside her mother for two years. Both mother and daughter were active members of the Sikh community in Halifax, regularly attending the local gurdwara, or worship center.

Community has rallied

“It’s pretty distressing, you know, young people come here with all kinds of hopes and dreams, and they’re working hard, and then this is what happens,” Satnam Singh Randhawa, chair of the Maritime Sikh Society board, shared with CBC News.

In the wake of this tragedy, the community has rallied together to support the grieving family, particularly Gursimran’s mother, who is understandably traumatized.

“Of course, the immediate family is absolutely shocked. They are in kind of a trauma,” Seyan, a member of the community, shared.

Mother is traumatized

”The first day I saw her (the mother) was the day the incident happened. She was really distraught. She was really in great pain,” Randhawa told NBC News.

Throughout the week, the Sikh Society has organized fundraising efforts for the family, and the outpouring of support has been tremendous. As of Friday, October 25, a GoFundMe campaign established on behalf of the family has raised nearly $193,000 CAD.

“Target has been reached, and we are grateful for everyone’s kindness and generosity. We are unable to pause the fundraiser ourselves for some reason, so we have requested GoFundMe to close it from their side. They are looking into it at this time,” the campaign organizers stated.

The goal now is to arrange for Gursimran’s father and her 10-year-old brother, who remain in India, to fly to Canada during this unimaginably difficult time.