The family of Ruma Amar is fondly remembering her as a hard-working, loving person after she was one of two people fatally shot outside of a Toronto bowling alley late Saturday.
“Always caring, always loving, always giving – I never saw her doing anything for her own self,” Amandeep Luthra, Amar’s husband, said on Monday.
“She was a beautiful soul – always helping everyone.”
READ MORE: Man killed in shooting at Toronto bowling alley ‘targeted,’ woman killed was bystander, police say
Luthra, Amar and her younger sister, Reema Amar, had just gone to Ikea to do some shopping when they decided to go out for dinner Saturday evening.
They arrived at PlayTime Bowl and Entertainment, near Dufferin Street and Lawrence Avenue West, at around 9:30 p.m. The three were playing arcade games for about half an hour when they decided they wanted to get dinner before coming back to bowl.
“’Let’s just eat and then we can come back because the bowling alley they are open until two, so we can eat and come back,’” Luthra said as he recalled their discussion that night.
“And we decided, let’s just leave, the moment we stepped out and… and this happened.”
WATCH: Husband of Ruma Amar says she ‘was fighting until the end’
Ruma was shot in the back of the head as police allege two armed suspects fired multiple shots in front of the bowling alley.
In an update on Sunday, police said the suspects were pursuing Thanh Tien Ngo, a 32-year-old man who was also shot and died at the scene.
“With what we have learned thus far, we have every reason to believe Mr. Ngo was targeted,” Det. Robert Choe said.
“We are also confident in saying that there is no relationship between Mr. Ngo and Mrs. Amar, and that Mr. Ngo was the intended target when Mrs. Amar was shot.”
WATCH: Patrons of bowling alley where double homicide occurred recall the mass panic to get out
The two armed suspects left the scene with a third person in a dark-coloured vehicle.
Inside his father-in-law’s home, Luthra described his final moments with Ruma.
“All I could think of is, yeah, she was fighting. She was fighting until the end because when I was holding her like this she was all drenched in blood, but I was like, ‘Just breathe. Just breathe. Just breathe hard.”
Reema said the family was hopeful Ruma would survive because she said they were told she was breathing after the shooting and Luthra commended emergency crews for trying “their level best” to save her.
“So when we got to the hospital, they just kind of told her that they were losing her. Those were her last breaths that she was taking,” she said.
Sunil Amar, Ruma’s father, said on Monday his wife died not too long ago and the loss has been especially difficult.
“Eight months back from this day – eight months – and now I have to do for my daughter, come on… come on,” he said.
“I’m totally heartbroken. I’m totally shattered inside, but still I have to be strong for them – I have to be.”
Meanwhile, both Luthra and Reema described Ruma as someone who was passionate about her career and always calling to check on their well-being.
“She was like my second mom. She looked after me all the time after my mom passed away from cancer last year and this was just unbelievable,” Reema said.
“She was like my strength. Just losing her is like… I never imagined something like this would happen and just seeing her go like this, it’s very heartbreaking.”
WATCH: Police searching for 3 suspects in ‘targeted’ bowling alley shooting
Ruma worked at CIBC along with her husband. He said she was recently working on a securities course and got a promotion just days ago.
“She’s like, ‘OK, wow, everything is going smoothly,’” Luthra said, noting the couple marked their first year of marriage on March 4.
During their interview, Reema and Luthra both called for an end to violence.
“Whoever did that, I would just tell them to just think before you do something … because you don’t know the consequences,” Reema said.
The owner of PlayTime Bowl and Entertainment expressed his sympathies to Ruma’s family in a written statement to Global News.
“On behalf of myself and all of our employees I would like to express our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Ruma Amar,” Howard Orfus wrote.
“We are heartbroken at the senseless tragedy that took her life. Our thoughts and prayers are with her loved ones at this difficult time.
Meanwhile, Toronto police encouraged anyone who may have witnessed the shooting or with information about on why Ngo might have been targeted to contact the Toronto police homicide squad at 416-808-7400, 32 Division at 416-808-3200, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-8477.
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