Bartamaha –Edmonton’s Somali community is on edge after a 23-year-old man was gunned down at a lounge near the downtown core early on New Year’s Day, marking the first homicide of the year.

Police responded to a call about a shooting around 3 a.m. at the Papyrus Lounge, at 11124 107 Ave., and found a dead man on the floor of the lobby, which had numerous people inside. A second man, 26, was also shot and taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The two men were known to police, who are trying to determine if the shooting was random. No suspects have been identified at this time and an autopsy has not been scheduled.

Mahamad Accord, president of the Alberta Somali Community, said the family of the man, known as Ayud, is devastated.

He said Ayud was raised in Edmonton and was a family man who was looking forward to the birth of his first child.

“He wasn’t involved with gangs or drugs. He was just celebrating the new year,” said Accord. “Not only is the family devastated, but we have a young wife who lost her husband.”

According to Accord, the shooting marks the 12th shooting of a Somali in Edmonton within the past four or five years, with many of those cases still unsolved.

Accord said he wasn’t surprised when he received the call about the shooting and said many members of the local Somali community are already on edge due to the ongoing gun violence.

“The killing will continue because we have a municipal leadership who does not care or they don’t know what to do about it,” said Accord.

Meanwhile, residents in the neighbourhood were shocked to wake up and see yellow police tape surrounding the area.

Trevor Duncan has lived most of his life on 107 Avenue and considers himself lucky not be a victim of any foul play. He found the area rather quiet for New Year’s Eve.

“I’m in shock. I saw the yellow tape and my heart started racing,” said Duncan, who lives and works across the street from Papyrus. “I’ve seen stabbings and shootings in the area, but never this close. I just hope I don’t know the guy who died.”

“There’s always drunk people around here,” said Yassin Arabi, who works at a nearby grocery store. “This area is not good and I worry about the children and the families that are around here.”

Police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to call 780-423-4567 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-422-8477.

Calgary and Toronto also reported their first homicides of the year on New Year’s Day.

[email protected]

Eleven young Somali-Canadian men have been killed in 12 shootings in northern Alberta since August 2008

• Feb. 17, 2010 — Idiris Abess, 23, of Fort McMurray, and Torontonian Saed Adad, 22, are found slain in a downtown Fort McMurray apartment. No arrests.

• Nov. 12, 2009 — The body of Abdulaziz Osman Isse, 21, is found behind a dumpster at a synagogue in an upscale west Edmonton neighbourhood. No arrests.

• April 26, 2009 — Mohamad Farah Khalif, 20, is shot to death on April 26, 2009, in Hermitage Park. Abdikadir Mohamed Abdow, 22, and Mohamed Abdilla Awaleh, 36, both of Edmonton, face one count each of first-degree murder, kidnapping, robbery, as well as numerous weapons-related charges.

• Dec. 2, 2008 — Ahmed Mohammed Abdirahman, 21, is fatally hit by a bullet in a parking lot near 148 Avenue and 88A Street. He‚s found about 10:20 p.m. No arrests.

• Dec. 2, 2008 — Abdul Kadir Mohamoud, 23, is shot and left in a field in Grand Truck Park. He‚s found about 9:30 p.m. No arrests.

• Nov. 9, 2008 — Daniel Asarfo-Adjei, 17, is shot dead in Fort McMurray. No arrests.

• Oct. 31, 2008 — Abas Akubar, 21, is shot and found Oct. 31 in a park near 140 Avenue and 92 Street. No arrests.

• Sept. 16, 2008 — Nasir Mohamed Said, 22, is shot to death behind Balwin School. No arrests.

• Aug. 24, 2008 — Mohamed Ali Ibrahim, 24, is shot and killed “execution-style” outside the River Cree Resort and Casino. Adam Michael Brown, 23, and Alexander Edward Colin Reid, 22, were sentenced last month to life in prison with no chance of parole for 17 years.

=================================

Source:-Edmonton

Comments

comments