Suspicious death of Gilbert Kagabo second tragedy in three years for Rwandan family in Saskatoon

The suspicious death of Holy Cross High School student Gilbert Kagaboon Nov. 2 is the second tragedy to hit a Rwandan family in less than three years.

Police are still investigating how Kagabo died. Officers and paramedics were called to the TCU Financial Groupbuilding at 2311 Arlington Ave. just after noon on Saturday after reports of a man in medical distress.

Friends have identified the man as Gilbert Kagabo, a student at Holy Cross High School.

Kagabo died shortly after stumbling into the credit union's ATM vestibule. Witnesses tell CBC he had been in an altercation in a nearby alley.

A friendwho knew Kagabo through their mutual involvement in a youth groupsaid it was the second untimely deathKagabo's family had experienced in recent years in the city.

"His family is not new to tragedy," the friend said.

"Gilbert's cousin Eric was the young man killed accidentally at the Children's Hospital work site a few summers ago."

• Trial stemming from Children's Hospital construction death hears lift fell and hit Eric Ndayishimiye

Eric Ndayishimiye was working at the construction site of Saskatoon's new Jim Pattison Children's Hospital on July 21, 2016, when an approximately-19-foot-high table cart, or construction lift, fell and struck him.

Ndayishimiye was pronounced dead within minutes of being brought to hospital.

Both young men came to Canada from Rwanda, went to Holy Cross High School and died sudden, violent deaths. They also attended the same church.

Since the weekend, counselling has been made available to students at the high school.

Staff who were working at the credit union on Saturday returned to work on Tuesday.

Greg Peacock, interim chief executive officer with the TCU Financial Group, said he went to the credit union within hours of the incident and met with the seven people working that day.

"All have been affected in different ways," he said.

The company had a trained counsellor on-site that same afternoon to help staff. Peacock would not provide details, but he said that the victim had collapsed inside the vestibule and that "each had seen different parts of the incident."

This suspicious death comes in a year when Saskatoon Police have been investigating a record 14 homicides.