Police identify person found dead on trail near UofT Scarborough campus

Toronto Police released an image of 20 year-old Shivank Avasthi as the victim in an alleged fatal shooting near the University of Toronto’s Scarborough Campus.

An image of the victim of an alleged fatal shooting that happened near the University of Toronto’s Scarborough Campus (UTSC) on Tuesday has been released by Toronto police.

Investigators identified the victim as Shivank Avasthi, 20, of Toronto.

The shooting took place at around 3:30 p.m. in the Highland Creek Trail and Old Kingston Road area, according to police. Avasthi was pronounced dead on the scene, and the suspect fled before police arrived, investigators reported Wednesday.

Detectives could not confirm if Avasthi was a student at the school or not.

A UTSC spokesperson said the university was “extremely saddened” to learn about the death near their campus, but did not confirm if he was a student.

“We cannot comment on the identity of the victim at this time,” the spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday evening.

“We are grateful to our Campus Safety team, Toronto Police Service and emergency medical service personnel for their immediate response and action.”

Police are asking anyone with information to come forward.

• READ MORE: Homicide unit investigating after person found dead on trail near UofT Scarborough campus

UTSC was put under lockdown following the incident, with shelter-in-place orders, and paths into the Highland Creek Valley closed, but police said there was “no ongoing threat to the University of Toronto community,” a UTSC spokesperson told CP24.

On Tuesday, Toronto police Duty Inspector Jeff Allington said that there was no reason to suspect immediate danger to the public. UTSC told CP24 that police believed it was an isolated incident.

Police are reporting that this makes Toronto’s 41st homicide of 2025.