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Mohamed Ali Ibrahim, 24, died of a single gunshot wound on August 30th, 2008.

Ibrahim was the Edmonton metro area's seventh homicide victim of the year.

Adam Michael Brown, 21, and Alexander Edward Colin Reid, 20, were each charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder.

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24-year-old Mohamed Ali Ibrahim was shot dead and a 20-year-old woman was injured after bullets flew through the morning air outside the River Cree Resort and Casino on the Enoch reserve just west of Edmonton.

Stony Plain RCMP were called out to the popular entertainment facility at about 1:26 a.m. August 30th, 2008 after reports came in of a major disturbance at the Touch Ultra Lounge, a nightclub inside the casino. While police were on their way came calls of shots fired.

"We have one deceased and we believe possibly another person injured but that's yet to be confirmed," RCMP Staff Sgt. Mike Pierson told media.

"Our guys are just trying locate and interview some witnesses."

RCMP later said a woman was transported to an Edmonton hospital where she was listed in stable condition.

The victim's body was covered with a tarp just outside the front lobby but it had yet to be confirmed if that was where the shooting took place.

It was reported some witnesses heard at least two shots fired. The Edmonton police Air One helicopter was brought in to provide search assistance.

It appeared one man was taken into custody but police have not released any details regarding suspects.

Part of the complex was closed as police took over. Black curtains were set up around the entrance at the request of hotel management.

For most of the day the main floor of the resort and the parking lot were shut down as forensic staff processed the scene.

An RCMP police dog worked the ditches along Whitemud Drive west of Anthony Henday Drive. Police couldn't confirm if a weapon had been recovered.

The body was removed around 2:00 p.m., but the casino, the lounge and a large part of the parking lot remained closed.

While authorities revealed little about the identity of the victim, he was described by some as a black male in his twenties.

Investigators have not commented on whether drug or gang connections were suspected in the shooting.

Stony Plain RCMP held a news conference later in the day.

“When RCMP officers attended there were fights outside as well as they reported that a shooting had just occurred outside the River Cree Casino,” Const. Barb Roy said.

The spokesman added that investigators were currently examining surveillance footage taken from several cameras around the casino.

"They have video of the casino inside and out and they'll be going over that to assist them."

The Edmonton Major Crimes and Forensics units were brought in to help officers from the Stony Plain detachment and the Stony Plain RCMP drug team. Roy said the drug team was only assisting the investigation and that was not an indication that drugs or gangs were involved in the shooting.

Police couldn't confirm whether the unidentified woman was at the casino with the victim or in a different group, or whether the victim was involved in a fight inside the lounge or was an innocent bystander.

Roy did say casino staff have been cooperative.

One woman spoke to a casino worker who witnessed the shooting.

“She said some guy had walked out of the casino and this guy just shot him in the back of the head,” Theresa Haineault said.

“She didn’t say how many times, just that the guy was shot in the back of the head and another person got hurt.”

Cort Gallup described what he saw.

"This guy was face down on the pavement," Gallup said. "There was a bunch of people running around screaming."

Gallup added the victim appeared to have a serious head wound. "He died right there," Gallup said.

A regular patron of the Touch Ultra Lounge said it should have been shut down a long time ago due to frequent problems.

“It seems like it's always gangs in there and whatever,” Rod Ferguson said. “We try to enjoy ourselves on a Saturday night and you can't. It's loud and they're fighting. It's no good.”

Const. Roy acknowledged police had been to the lounge for incidents in the past, but said the number of times wasn't out of the ordinary for such a location.

A tourist visiting the casino for a poker tournament said the situation was tense in the wake of the shooting.

"It's definitely scary. You hear about these things all the time ... I've never really been this close to it," Jay Glass told media.

A scheduled Canadian Poker Tour tournament, to be taped for broadcast for The Score, was delayed.

River Cree management released a brief statement defending their operation.

"All evidence is pointing towards the event being and isolated incident," General Manager Michael Heeb wrote. "The resort is not at liberty to discuss the incident."

Willing to discuss the incident but not reveal her identity was a woman named Marie, interviewed by Global Edmonton.

Marie was a near-eyewitness to the shooting who had harsh words for casino management and her fellow citizens. She acknowledged the bad notoriety of the lounge.

"We knew the reputation of the casino with the new clubs in there and the violence, but I didn't expect to see gunshots a few feet from my face," Marie said.

"I didn't see who shot him but I saw both bullets exiting the gun.

Marie described the scene.

"All you heard was screaming and crying after that and people flying in and out of the casino door trying to get help for this young fellow.

"You felt like if you walked out the door you were going to be killed. If you stayed in the casino – there were so many people in there and there was other people talking about going to their vehicles and grabbing guns ... you didn't know what to do."

Marie said she felt her personal safety was at risk.

"They were just so disorganised ... There was more people trying to protect themselves than it was the actual casino trying to protect us.

"We heard gunshots. 'Yep, there was a dead body outside but let's still play.' The majority were still playing and drinking in the casino while the guy was dead outside.

"It was not a reaction I expected from Edmontonians at all," Marie said.

When the River Cree Resort and Casino was first proposed, there was resistance to the development from nearby communities. But according to Rob Sharman, president of Lewis Estates Community League, the casino has been a good neighbour.

"Obviously, we have concerns when anything like that happens close to our community, but as we see in Edmonton, it happens almost everywhere," Sharman said, adding a homicide in the neighbourhood was troubling but that the casino was not to blame.

However, a resident of the area had concerns not shared by the community leader.

"It's kind of a scary situation especially whenever you live close by like this," Don Boddez said. "You never know when you might be next."

On August 31st, 2008 Stony Plain RCMP identified the shooting victim as 24-year-old Mohamed Ali Ibrahim. He had been living in Edmonton for about a year and had family in Toronto.

Investigators didn't confirm if Ibrahim knew anyone at the casino or if he was there by himself.

Police also shed a little bit more light on the second victim, saying she was a 20-year-old female who had recently moved to Edmonton from Ontario.

RCMP updated news of the case on September 2nd by saying Ibrahim was known to police, but not the Spruce Grove/Stony Plain office. No further details were provided.

Court records revealed that an arrest warrant had been issued for Ibrahim after he failed to appear before a judge on July 9th, 2008 to answer to a charge of failing to comply with conditions (report to a probation officer).

In Toronto, Ibrahim (who friends called Esko) had a robbery charge against him withdrawn in March 2007 after he accepted the conditions of a peace bond.

Results of an autopsy confirmed that Ibrahim died of a single gunshot wound.

Police also said the 20-year-old woman knew Ibrahim on a first-name basis, but was not a girlfriend or spouse.

Management of the resort stepped up their damage control when speaking with the Edmonton Sun, saying plans had already been in the works to change the appeal of the facility.

"[The lounge] ended up attracting a much younger clientele than we wanted," admitted general manager Michael Heeb.

When the River Cree Resort and Casino was first envisioned, developers hoped to attract a Las Vegas type of clientele with plenty of disposable cash.

Instead, the Touch Ultra Lounge found itself catering to a twenty-something crowd, something management hoped to change by switching the room to a 1970s cover-band club aimed at an older audience.

"We had actually looked at reprogramming or reinventing that space," Heeb said.

Countering reports the lounge was described as having a reputation for fights, Heeb said security measures included all patrons being scanned with wands to keep knives and guns out of the nightclub.

Forwarding his own theory about the incident, Heeb figured the shooter left the casino, went to a car and then came back.

"He never returned into the facility. Everything transpired in the front entrance."

Regarding surveillance footage being examined by police, Heeb said the facilty had several cameras covering the front entrance where the shooting occurred.

Edmonton mayor Stephen Mandel appealed for perspective in the matter.

"These are isolated cases, you know, go to other cities in North America and the world and you can see real crime statistics," Mandel said.

But for those who witnessed the shooting, Edmonton's crime statistics seemed real enough.

Persons charged

On October 8th, 2008 Stony Plain RCMP announced that two persons had been charged with in connection with the death of Mohamed Ali Ibrahim.

Adam Michael Brown, 21, and Alexander Edward Colin Reid, 20, were each charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder.

The rarely-laid charge of first-degree suggests the murder had been anticipated or planned.

Brown was arrested without incident at a northeast Edmonton residence on October 8th with the assistance of the Edmonton Police Service Tactical Section.

Reid remained at large with outstanding warrants for his arrest and media spread word asking the public to call police if he was spotted.

Within minutes of the supper-hour TV news being broadcast, Reid (above) gave himself up at Edmonton police headquarters.

Court appearance dates had yet to be announced.

When contacted by the Edmonton Journal, Ibrahim's family members in Toronto said they don't know the two men charged. However, police said the pair had ties to the Toronto area.

Police did not reveal if they thought Ibrahim's murder to be connected to drug or gang activity.

Despite the arrests, RCMP said investigators remain open to speaking with anyone who may have information relating to the circumstances that lead up to the events of August 30th, 2008 at the River Cree Casino.

Those with information were asked to contact Stony Plain RCMP office at 780-968-7267, 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).

Additional material

During the course of story coverage, many images are recorded but not all are published. Some are redundant, some are of less than optimal quality and some do not fit editorial context.

For the interest of readers, these "outtakes" can be viewed here. Note: not all images have been reduced in file size – page may be slow in loading.

deadmonton 2008 - mohamed ali ibrahim