Until the moment she brandished a knife and stabbed a random woman in the heart, few would have had reason to fear “gentle, calm” Rohinie Bisesar.
The well-dressed businesswoman — described as “organized, professional, hard-working and courteous” — walked casually into a drugstore, went straight to her victim and plunged a blade into her chest — a shocking outbreak of violence that police say was “completely unprovoked.”
The victim was shopping and speaking on her phone when the attack occurred.
The Dec. 11 incident has left the victim fighting for her life in a hospital while police in Canada’s largest city hunt for Bisesar, who they warn is “violent and dangerous.”
View video“She stabbed a complete stranger in the heart, putting her in grave condition in the hospital,” Constable David Hopkinson of the Toronto Police Service told the Globe and Mail. “I’d call that dangerous.”
It is a dramatic escalation for the Toronto woman who has multiple degrees, works as a financial adviser and has no criminal background.
Hopkinson told the National Post that investigators were grappling with what could have motivated the 40-year-old to commit such a brutal attack.
“It is strange,” he said. “We believe it to be a completely unprovoked attack.”
No details of the victim have been released, other than she is younger than Bisesar, possibly in her late 20s.
Bisesar escaped the scene before police arrived. And, according to Hopkinson, she didn’t utter a word to anyone before she left.
“I don’t believe anyone has spoken to her,” he said. “If we catch her, we might be able to establish that there’s something going on in the background here that we don’t know about. But we’ve not found any link.”
He urged her to surrender.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Bisesar holds an MBA, a bachelor of applied sciences, and a bachelor of science. She apparently works as a financial adviser and investor and is currently “opportunity seeking,” the profile says.
She was well known throughout Toronto’s financial district and was seen regularly in shops there.
CCTV images released of Bisesar on the day of the attack show her wearing a lavender shirt, black blazer and matching skirt. She was carrying a red shopping bag.
A former colleague, Adris Pone, told City News he was shocked that Bisesar had been accused of such a violent crime.
“The behavior that is alleged is extremely, extremely out of character for Rohinie. (I’m) absolutely shocked. This is someone who is very gentle, very calm, very measured. She speaks almost with a whisper. Physically she is like 5-1 in heels … This is someone very gentle, just makes this whole thing all the more surprising.”
He told Global News that a mutual friend texted him about what happened.
“I don’t know what has happened with her, but it’s just so incredibly out of character. I just think it’s important for the police and public to know that,” he said, adding that he wanted her to contact police.
One of the endorsements on her LinkedIn page was from Sean Siddik, chief of staff in the dean’s office at the Schulich School of Business at York University. He called her “organized, professional, hard working, and courteous.”
“She demonstrated sound judgment, as well as very strong leadership and entrepreneurial skills. Rohinie was a pleasure to work with.”
Violent crimes committed against strangers are rare in Canada, with no more than a dozen people being murdered by strangers in Toronto, population 5.5 million, each year, according to the Toronto Star.