A week after 19-year-old Gursimran Kaur was found burnt to death in a walk-in oven at a Walmart store in Halifax, Nova Scotia, employees have been sharing their theories on how the incident might have happened. Some Walmart workers, including several on TikTok, even claimed that Walmart oven doors were made in such a way that it would be difficult to get locked inside.
TikTok user Chris Breezie said, "The machine is turned on from the outside and is not easy to be closed." Showing how the door works, she added, "I don't even know if I would fit in here. I'm 5 foot 1, medium built. I would have to crouch down to get in."
She said that the oven door "was not so easy to lock" and required someone to "push (the latch) with all your might and pull the handle to the side and lock it in place". Chris said that it would be nearly impossible to lock oneself inside, unless forced in. "Now, somebody could throw me in there and lock me in there, but that's a whole different scenario," she said.
Another Walmart employee showed the oven's emergency release feature, which she said could be activated with a simple push to open the door from the inside. "I'm not trying to theorise or form a conspiracy, it's just hard to wrap my head around it when Walmart's bakery ovens are so safe to use," she shared in a viral TikTok post, which prompted responses from other employees agreeing that the door should not close easily.
The police probe into the death continues. It is yet unclear how Gursimran became trapped in the oven. It was her mother who found her body. "Imagine the horror that her mother experienced – who herself opened the oven. As you all know, her charred remains were found inside the walk-in oven in the bakery after a few hours," a GoFundMe page stated.
Walmart has expressed its condolences, saying, "We are heartbroken and our deepest thoughts are with our associate and their family. We extend our sincerest condolences to those who were closest to them. We're also supporting our associates during this incredibly difficult time and have provided access to 24/7 virtual care and will provide on-site support, including grief counselling."