A beloved Toronto teacher who was killed in a triple shooting earlier this week was remembered at a funeral in Rexdale Friday afternoon.
Mourners gathered at Khalid Bin Al-Walid Mosque, located at 16 Bethridge Rd., to say goodbye to Abshir Hassan. The 31-year-old teacher at Lawrence Heights Middle School was fatally shot Tuesday at approximately 12:15 a.m. while attending a birthday party near Lawrence Avenue West and Allen Road.
Two other people, a 22-year-old man and an 18-year-old woman, were also shot. They are still in hospital. Police continue to search for suspects in connection with the shooting.
On Friday, hundreds of mourners attended the 2 p.m. funeral. The mosque was so full at one point that many people prayed outside during the service. Among those who attended the funeral were his former students and friends, who remember Hassan for being a role model and mentor.
"If we (went) to him with a situation, he (ended) up turning a negative into a positive," Jason Liu, one of Hassan's former students, told CTV Toronto.
Hassan, who moved to the city as a child with his parents as a refugee from Somalia, grew up in the neighbourhood he was shot in. The area is known as one that has been plagued with gun violence in the past. But despite the neighbourhood's history, Hassan never left.
"He didn't leave the community when his family moved to Maple," Hassan's friend Mike Schram told CTV Toronto. "He refused to leave. He wanted to stay…. He was doing great things at Lawrence Heights."
A scholarship has been created in Hassan's memory. CIBC says it will match every donation dollar-for-dollar.
Scholarship information:
CIBC transit number: 01912
Account number: 7916280.
