Members of Calgary's South Sudanese community are mourning the loss of 23-year-old Abiem Akel, the man fatally shot in a Forest Lawn home early Friday morning.
Police were called to a home in the 2400 block of 47 Street S.E. shortly before 5:00 a.m. following reports of gunshots. Inside the residence, officers discovered the lifeless body of a man in his 20s.
Family members confirm the deceased was Abiem Akel.
The man who initially called police told CTV that he heard a couple of shots and then looked outside to see three black men running to a car and then driving away.
"At about a quarter to five I heard a bang. I thought it was maybe my furnace, you know a backfire or something," said the man who identified himself as Todd. "I heard another bang so I knew it was a gunshot. I opened my door and I see three black guys running and jumping into a little white car here. I holler at them, 'hey, what the hell do you think you're doing' and he turned and could see he had a gun in his hand so I went in the house and called the Calgary Police Service,"
Todd said the people who lived at the home at the centre of the police investigation have only been there for about two to three months and he does not know them. "I know pretty much everyone else who lives around here. There has never been gunfire around here before."
Police say there were other people inside the home at the time the shooting took place but no one else was injured.
According to CPS Duty Inspector Kelly Campbell, the fatal shooting was targeted and believed to be an isolated incident.
Descriptions of the suspects and suspect vehicle have not been released.
An autopsy is expected to be completed next week.
Anyone who may have information is asked to call police at 403-266-1234 or Crime Stoppers anonymously using any of the following methods:
- TALK: 1-800-222-8477
- TYPE: www.calgarycrimestoppers.org
- TEXT: tttTIPS to 267463
With files from CTV's Jamie Mauracher