The recent shooting deaths of two young Calgarians of Somali descent has the local Somalian community searching for answers.
“It is very sad and raises concern among the community,” said Mudhir Mohamed, the owner of the Jubba-Nile Supermarket in southeast Calgary. “We’re asking ourselves ‘What’s going on?’, ‘Why’s this happening?’.”
Mohamed adds the deaths of two young men from the same community, in the span of two days, is unusual.
A New Year’s Day shooting at a house party in the southwest community of Killarney sent seven people to hospital for treatment of gunshot wounds. 26-year-old Abdullahi Ahmed, suffering from a bullet wound to his forehead which left shrapnel in his skull, passed away in hospital on January 1.
The following day, in what police have determined to be an unrelated attack, gunshots rang out in the neighbourhood of Rosedale and a lifeless body was discovered. Family members have identified the deceased as 23-year-old Murad Omar.
A spiritual leader for Calgary’s Somali residents says the troubling violence involving community members must end.
“This community is under attack,” said Abdi Hersy, a local imam. “We’re losing many young lives. We can’t watch until the last one is murdered. We are asking for answers.”
Calgary police have not made arrests in connection to the shooting deaths of Ahmed and Omar.
Anyone with information about either of the unrelated fatal shootings is asked to contact the Calgary Police Service, 403-266-1234, or Crime Stoppers.
