Abas Abukar, 21, died of a gunshot wound on October 31st, 2008.
Abukar was Edmonton's twenty-fifth homicide victim of the year. His name was listed as 'Akubar' on initial reports.
Case status is open and active.
Police continue to investigate the discovery of a body found in a field.
A man walking his dog came across the body an adult male in his 20s lying in the area of 140th Avenue and 92nd Street at about 7:20 a.m. on Friday, October 31st.
After the dog licked the adult male's face and the man touched his arm and got no response, emergency medical personnel were called. Paramedics then brought in police who in turn alerted homicide detectives.
"It looks suspicious at this time and our homicide detectives have been called," Insp. Teri Uhryn confirmed for media.
"The ambulance has checked him and it's just unusual," Uhryn said, not releasing further details.
A heavy police presence descended and yellow crime scene tape blocked off an area near a fence. A white balnket covered the body lying beside a picnic bench in a playground behind the Northmount Community League Hall.
The forensic unit started started working scene just after 9:00 a.m.
Three schools are in the immediate area: Northmount Elementary, St. Anne Elementary and Dickinsfield Junior High. Officers took measures to keep onlookers away from the scene. School officials were told to keep children indoors and away from the playground "so they're not traumatised," Uhryn said.
The schools weren't locked down as the police investigation continued.
For residents of the Northmount neighbourhood, the scene made for an unusual sight as children dressed in costumes walked past the uniformed and plainclothed officers – read more »
One woman taking her children to school told them police were doing something special for Hallowe'en.
"The kids are panicking, wondering what's going on and right when they said that I saw a body lying underneath some trees with a sheet covering it," Jitka Holton said.
"I basically got out of there as fast as I could. It puts a damper on your day."
Northmount Elementary principal Glenn Iriye later said students were kept inside at recess, explaining to them what had happened.
"They were certainly curious because of the emergency vehicles," he said, adding some students thought it was a Halloween display.
Investigators and reporters started going door to door, looking for anyone who may have information or a good quote to give.
Most said they didn't hear or see anything suspicious.
"We have no idea what happened here," Lil Mandrusiak and her husband Joe said. The couple walk a four-kilometre route daily that brings them by the very spot where the body was found.
An area resident since 1970 said the neighbourhood is usually very quiet. "A couple of weeks ago, somebody set my neighbour's garage on fire," Ben Bruhn offered.
The Edmonton Journal was first to release details of their coversation with Lawrence Bozak, the man who found the body.
Bozak and Buddy, a Labrador-collie cross, headed out for a walk near Northmount Park just after 6:30 a.m.
"I had a premonition," Bozak said. "I wondered if I would see a body. Probably because it was Hallowe'en."
Turned out he was right.
Although still dark at that hour, Bozak spotted "a shadow" cast by a street lamp.
"At first I thought it was a mannequin," he said. "But as I got closer I saw it was a body."
Buddy licked the man's face. Bozak told the Journal he tapped the man's face, saying "Wake up."
Then Bozak touched the man's hand and it became clear the man had been dead for hours. "He was already stiff." he said.
Bozak said the man appeared to be Caucasian and that no wounds were apparent though it was difficult to tell in the dark.
"He was dressed good," he said, "And he had his hands above his head."
The man and his dog hurried home and he called 911.
In other interviews, Bozak told reporters he thought it was all part of a gory Halloween prank.
"It is a real disturbing Halloween story," he said. "I'll remember this Halloween."
Bozak too said it was a quiet neighbourhood, but like most parts of the city evidence of drug-dealing seemed to have picked up in recent years. He and his wife Natalie have lived there since the early 1980s.
A woman passing by told the Journal she had often seen groups of young men sitting around the picnic table near where the body was found.
And a D. Moon, who lived across the street, said he was woken by a series of "popping sounds" at around 2:30 a.m. "But I thought it was a muffler," he said.
Graeme Wilson, who also lived across the street, said his wife thought she heard gunshots between 2:00 a.m. and 2:30 a.m.
Not seeing anything suspicious when they looked out their window, the couple didn't call police.
"It could've been firecrackers," Wilson figured. "It's a very good neighbourhood, no problems. But a lot of young people (hang out there) in the summertime."
Late in the afternoon, as the medical examiner prepared to move the body, the white blanket was removed and the man's head was exposed revealing he was dark-skinned.
Abdi Razak, a member of Edmonton's Somali community, said he received a tip that the man was Somalian. Arriving at the park just as the body was being moved he saw the man's face.
Razak guessed there was "an 85% chance" he was from the community but he didn't think he knew who the man was.
After the body taken from the field police declared the death a homicide.
Details on the type and extent of injuries the man sustained were held back for purposes of the investigation.
Police said they believe they have identified the deceased man and were in the process of notifying his next of kin.
It remained unclear if the man was killed in the park or was dumped there.
On November 3rd, 2008 police identified the man as 21-year-old Abas Abukar.
An autopsy revealed Abukar died of a gunshot wound .
Abukar had been living in Edmonton for the past several months after moving from Toronto.
A spokesman for Edmonton police said it wasn't clear why Abukar was targeted. "They're still investigating the motive," the spokesman said.
Police said surveillance footage of a nearby school parking lot showed a vehicle pulling in at 1:30 a.m. and leaving about 90 minutes later.
Officers said they would like to speak to the person or persons inside that vehicle to determine what they may have seen or heard while parked there. They were not believed to be connected to the incident.
Those with information about the matter were asked to contact Edmonton police at 780-423-4567, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), or online at www.tipsubmit.com
Tips can also be text messaged. In Edmonton, text TIP250 + message and send to CRIMES (274637). In Northern Alberta, text TIP205 + message and send to CRIMES (274637).
The discovery of Abukar's body recalled a similar find about six weeks earlier, part of a growing trend in Edmonton homicides – read more »
Construction workers came across the body of 22-year-old Nasir Mohamad Said on September 16th, 2008 behind Balwin school on 132nd Avenue west of 70th Street.
The former Toronto man was shot where he was found and investigators believed his death was drug-related. While he wasn't known to police in Edmonton, he was wanted on several outstanding warrants in Ontario and was facing charges in Fort McMurray.
Said's murder was preceded by the death of another Somali man.
On August 24th, 2008 Mohamed Ali Ibrahim, 24, died of a single gunshot wound suffered while leaving the River Cree Resort and Casino on the Enoch reserve just west of Edmonton. A woman was also injured.
Ibrahim had been living in Edmonton for about a year and had family in Toronto where he had been released on a peace bond after a robbery charge against him was withdrawn in March 2007.
Two men were each charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder.
A man shot on November 9th, 2008 in Fort McMurray was later identified as 17-year-old Daniel Asarfo-Adjei. He had only been in the northern Aberta city for a few days.
RCMP confirmed the incident was drug-related and that Asarfo-Adjei was known to the Toronto Police Service.
On December 2nd, 2008 the body of 23-year-old Abdul Kadir Mohamoud was found in Grand Trunk Park near 109th Street and 130th Avenue. He had been beaten and shot to death.
At last word, the investigation into Mohamoud's death had stalled.
Hours later on December 2nd, Ahmed Mohammed Abdirahman was found dead after shots were fired in the parking lot of the Dickinsfield III townhouse complex at 89th Street and 149th Avenue.
The 21-year-old had his jaw blown off by at least one shotgun blast. Police said they have no motive or suspect information.
On April 26th, 2009 the body of Mahamed Farah Khalif was found in Hermitage Park, near Hermitage Road and Victoria Trail. The 20-year-old Hamilton man had been shot as part of a kidnapping and robbery that also involved one other man.
Two men, apparently known to Khalif, were each charged with first-degree murder along with robbery and kidnapping, with one man facing an additional 17 weapons-related offences. Family said Khalif got caught up the wrong crowd after he moved to Edmonton.
A body found November 12th, 2009 behind a west-end synagogue turned out to 21-year-old Abdulaziz Osman Isse, a Toronto man who had recently moved to Edmonton.
Back in Ontario, Isse was facing charges for robbery and uttering threats. RCMP in Fort McMurray also knew of the man. Edmonton police continue to hunt for his killer.
The broad-daylight execution-style shooting of 23-year-old Robleh Ali Mohamed on November 29th, 2009 made national news.
Mohamed, originally from Ottawa, was known to Edmonton police. What wasn't known was what he was doing behind a downtown laundromat in his Grand Marquis and why, according to witnesses, three men wanted to shoot him.
Like Abukar, the bodies of Said, Mohamoud and Isse were found in public spaces and with no attempt made to hide the remains.
Criminologists have long speculated that such killings are "message murders," intended as a warning to members within the criminal community.
It has been speculated that Somalis have been targeted as part of a gang turf war intended to keep them from establishing a toe-hold in Alberta.
The Edmonton Police Service web site entry for Abas Abukar can be seen here.
All the information presented on this page has been compiled primarily from published media reports and should not be interpreted as having legal bearing or other prejudice against the individuals named on this web site.
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