The family of a 27-year-old man who was shot dead in downtown Toronto over the weekend is asking his friends to come forward as police investigate.
The mother, siblings and cousin of Kabil Abdulkhadir joined homicide detectives at a Wednesday afternoon news conference at Toronto Police headquarters to make the appeal.
Abdulkhadir was shot dead outside the Marriott Hotel near Bay Street and Dundas Street East in the early morning hours of Aug. 9.
Homicide Det. Joyce Schertzer said Wednesday that Abdulkhadir arrived near the site of the homicide by car and was fatally shot after stepping out of the vehicle around 2:45 a.m.
Schertzer said while police have had a “great deal of success” with door-to-door canvassing in the days following the killing, they still need people who were “present at the time of the shooting” to come forward.
She said her “message is directed” to Abdulkhadir’s close friends and associates.
No suspects have been arrested, but police have analyzed video footage and interviewed hotel guests.
Abdulkhadir’s immediate family members made tearful appeals for help Wednesday, saying he “didn’t deserve to die like this.”
His mother, Fouzia Hassam, told reporters she wants the friends who were with him in the car to speak to police.
Abdulkhadir’s younger brother said that his family needs “justice.”
CTV Toronto confirmed earlier this week that Abdulkhadir was known to police. He was charged in 2009 after he was pulled over by officers for allegedly having a loaded firearm inside his car.
Police are appealing to any witnesses to call 52 Division at 416-808-5200 or Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS (8477).
