Youth pleads guilty in fatal 2022 stabbing outside Surrey school

A youth has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in a fatal stabbing outside a Surrey high school almost two years ago, the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) says.

Mounties say they responded to the stabbing in the parking lot of Tamanawis Secondary School on Nov. 22, 2022.

When they arrived, they found the victim, Mehakpreet Sethi, suffering from life-threatening injuries. He succumbed to those injuries shortly afterward.

Over a year later, on Nov. 20, 2023, BC Prosecution Service approved charges of second-degree murder.

The accused, whose name was not released due to being a youth at the time of the stabbing, entered the plea of manslaughter in Surrey Provincial Court this past Wednesday.

At the time of the attack, Sgt. Timothy Pierotti said the two were known to each other and it wasn’t a random attack. Pierotti said it was an isolated incident.

“This was a tragic incident affecting many members of our community,” said IHIT spokesperson Corp. Sukhi Dhesi.

“The Surrey RCMP Victim Services are available should anyone wish to speak to them.”

The sentencing hearing is set for Jan. 9, 2025.