Police have confirmed that a man who was shot and killed in Etobicoke early Thursday morning was the cousin of one of the victims of the deadly Eaton Centre shooting.
Police say Somali-Canadian Abdulle Elmi, 25, is the cousin of Ahmed Hassan. Hassan died after being shot on June 2 at the Eaton Centre.
Elmi’s body was found on Meadowbank Road, near Highway 427 and Burnhamthorpe Road around 4 a.m. on Thursday morning.
Police say an autopsy determined the cause of death as multiple gunshot wounds to the torso.
Police have not yet laid charges in the case and are continuing their investigation.
Elmi is the fourth Somali-Canadian to be shot and killed in the city since last month.
Somali-Canadians Ahmed Hassan, Nixon Nirmalendran and Hussein Hussein were all killed in June.
Canadian Somali Congress president Ahmed Hussen told CTV Toronto that the number of shootings is alarming.
“I was literally shocked at the frequency of the numbers,” he said. “The numbers are really disturbing in such a short time.”
In the last several years there have been a number of murders of Somali-Canadian men in both Toronto and Alberta.
Many Somali citizens sought refuge in Canada after fleeing the country’s civil war that started in the early 1990s.
In an effort to stop the violence, the Alberta government launched a series of programs to address the issue at the community level. Now many in Toronto are calling for the establishment of similar programs in the city.
“I think it’s a wake up call for the community and unfortunately, sometimes this is what it takes to bring people together to address these issues,” said Hussen.
Police are asking to speak with anyone who may have seen Elmi on Thursday, July 5, just after 3 a.m. near the area of Yonge and College Streets.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-7400, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), online at www.222tips.com, text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637), or Leave A Tip on Facebook.
With a report from CTV Toronto’s Tamara Cherry
