A 21-year-old Canadian-Sikh woman has been shot dead, in an apparent "targeted" killing in Canada's Ontario province, according to the police.

The victim, identified as Pawanpreet Kaur from Brampton, was fatally shot by an unidentified assailant on Saturday night in Mississauga city of Ontario province, according to a press release by the Peels Regional Police on Sunday.

According to the Toronto Sun newspaper, Kaur was shot outside a gas station.

Police received information about a woman being shot at around 10:39 pm, and located the victim with apparent gunshot wounds upon arrival at the scene. Life-saving measures were attempted however the victim succumbed to her injuries, the press release said.

The police believe it to be a "targeted" incident.

Kaur was pronounced deceased on the scene, according to Duty-Inspector Tim Nagtegaal quoted by the news report.

Little information was provided about the suspect.

“We are not able at this time to state the sex of the suspect, only that it was a party seen leaving – all dark clothing,” Nagtegaal was quoted as saying in the report. “The culprit was seen running from the scene wearing all dark clothing," he added.

“We saw her fall down and then suddenly the gunman pointed the gun at her head,” the Toronto Sun newspaper quoted an eyewitness, Carmela Sandoval, as saying.

This comes days after an Indian-origin teenager Mehakpreet Sethi was stabbed to death by another teenager in a high school parking lot in Canada's British Columbia province.

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