Suspect pleads not guilty to murder in Vancouver Starbucks stabbing trial

By Canadian Press on February 10, 2026.

VANCOUVER — A gruesome video of a fatal stabbing on a downtown Vancouver Starbucks patio nearly three years ago has been played in court on the first day of the suspect’s murder trial in the British Columbia Supreme Court.

Inderdeep Singh Gosal pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Paul Schmidt before Crown prosecutor Karin Blok showed videos depicting Gosal’s movements on March 26, 2023.

The court has watched Gosal wearing a grey hoodie and red pants as he travels by train to downtown Vancouver, then enters the patio of the coffee shop where he begins smoking just outside its doors.

Gosal is seen in a verbal confrontation with a second man, identified to the court as Schmidt, before a physical struggle in which Gosal ultimately stabs Schmidt in the chest six times.

Blood is smeared across the patio and a pool of blood forms under Schmidt, who falls to the ground after being stabbed, with Blok telling the court that the entire altercation “in its totality was 25 seconds.”

Gosal, who watched the video with his hand over his mouth, is seen entering the café after Schmidt falls, before re-emerging when police turn up, handcuffing him then leading him to a police van in front of a sea of onlookers.

Blok says the “primary issue” for the court to consider is intent and whether the Crown can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Gosal intended to cause Schmidt bodily harm that he knew was likely to cause death.

Gosal has opted to be tried by a judge alone.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2026.

Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press