Robleh Ali Mohamed, 23, was shot to death November 29th, 2009.
Mohamed was Edmonton's 25th homicide victim of the year.
Case status is open and active.
a community reacts |
police appeal to witnesses
funeral |
he didn't want to be a regular Joe Blow
this is not a Somali problem
Police continue to investigate Edmonton's twenty-fifth homicide of 2009, the shooting of a Somali man just north of the city's downtown.
Reports of shots fired at about 1:00 p.m. November 29th, 2009 brought officers to the A & S Laundromat at 10610 105 Street.
There they found the body of a man in his 20s inside a vehicle behind the building.
The man, who was pronounced dead at the scene, was slumped sideways in the driver's seat of a Mercury Grand Marquis in the alley, found parked and running behind the strip mall that also housed the African Safari Restaurant, Maca Halal Meats, and the Sudanese-Canadian Dinka Cultural Society.
"When officers arrived on scene, no one else was in the vehicle," a police spokesman indicated.
Investigators cordoned off the area, forcing businesses to close for the day. A neighbouring house was also placed behind crime scene tape – see images »
A police spokesman later confirmed they were treating the death as a homicide. No suspects or motive were identified.
While an eyewitness to what some described as a gang-style execution had yet to be located, one man came upon the scene possibly just moments after the man was slain. He said someone told him three men shot the man and ran away – read more »
Mohammed Mahmoud, seen above talking with police, had just parked his car near the running Mercury to pick up food from the African Safari restaurant.
"I was just there before police come and the witness tell me three guys killed a guy and they run," Mahmoud said.
"They come through the laundry and then they go around the other side ... they run.
"I was parking my car and I saw the guy and I think he's relaxing, you know ... just sleeping like this.
"Someone put his jacket on the blood, everything ... so if you saw him you think he's relaxing.
"I used to saw the guy in the restaurant – Somali restaurant," Mahahmoud said, adding "I know his face but I don't know him personally."
Jaamac Jaamac was in the African Safari Restaurant when he heard of the shooting.
"I was in the restaurant and a few guys come in and they say there's somebody got shot right now. So what they said was three guys come in to the back of the building and they shot a guy who was sitting inside his car," he said.
Jaamac hosts Arragtide Bisha, a Somali music program on CJSR 88.5 FM.
"Nobody's sure what happened exactly ... just rumours," he cautioned.
"It's sad, it's painful and it's unacceptable to the community.
"We've been here for a short time, and it seems that these things keep happening and is going to happen again and again, and at the same time nobody is worrying about it except the community, who cannot do anything."
In an earlier media interview, Jaamac noted that after Toronto and Minneapolis, Edmonton has the third-largest Somali community in North America. Recent figures place the population at about 10,000.
"It will be the role of homicide section investigators to determine the validity of the information and whether or not this witness information was something they heard [second-hand] or something they witnessed," a police spokesman said.
A community reacts
News of the shooting spread quickly and a number of Somalis gathered near the scene to find out what had happened.
One man expressed outrage on the community's behalf – read more »
"We came in from war ... we came from million miles away here ... in order to get safe place," Ibrhim Keinin said.
"When we come here, the same thing ... like Mogadishu. We are very sorry what's happening here."
"The middle of the day ... it's not even New York or Los Angeles. It doesn't happen in such cities this things. In one o'clock in the middle of the day.
"And now Edmonton is becoming the most dangerous city in Canada," Keinin noted.
"They're shooting in the middle of the day ... so I would say the police of Edmonton, they should do something to save at least the community.
The man's cry was one that has been heard often over the past 16 months. In that time, seven Somali men have been gunned down in Edmonton in addition to one in Fort McMurray.
"Here we go again, here we go again," community leader Mahamad Accord told media. "It's a never-ending issue."
"I don't know what is happening here, the whole community is very shaken up. It's very scary," echoed Mohamed Abdi, communications co-ordinator of the Somali-Canadian Cultural Society of Edmonton.
"The community is tight-knit. This is very tragic to them."
The two were referring to the ever-growing list of those slain apparently because of ties to the drug trade – read more »
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.
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.
On October 31st, 2008 the body of 21-year-old Abas Abukar was discovered lying in field near 140th Avenue and 92nd Street.
Abukar died of a gunshot wound. He had been living in Edmonton for several months after moving from Toronto. No progress has been reported in solving his 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 bodies of Said, Abukar, Mohamoud and Isse were found in public spaces and with no attempt made to hide the remains.
Criminologists have long thought that such killings are "message murders," intended as a warning to members of 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.
Police were hesitant to draw any links between past murders and the one they were currently dealing with.
"At this point in time, it's premature to start jumping down any particular paths, but investigators will look at everything," a spokesman said.
Officers canvassed the neighbourhood for possible witnesses.
Investigators remained on the scene all day and well into the evening, wrapping up the next morning after a snowfall.
The spokesman said one of the businesses had video surveillance in the front of building which detectives will be reviewing.
On the day after the shooting, and before the victim's name was released, media collectively advanced their coverage of the story through numerous interviews with Mahamad Accord, the local Somali point man.
Accord, who had spoken previously about the relationship between Somalis and Edmonton police, had a new target this time: the City of Edmonton. This did not go down well with the mayor – read more »
What follows is a "Frankenquote," a compilation of Accord's sound-bites as aired on local CTV, Global, CityTV and CBC outlets. Reporters likely had to wait in turn to interview the man.
"The situation is very intense. It's very challenging and is very heart-breaking," Accord said.
"It was broad daylight within the community. They came in, walked through the store, the restaurant, they did everything normal and they went out back.
"They killed the guy with witness there, they didn't even budge."
Accord expressed his disapointment after a series of meetings with police had failed to live up to his community's hopes.
"Where is the protection that we are expecting," he pondered.
"Only the community and the police whose been trying to deal with this issue. But in terms of the city, it's a no-show and we [are] frustrated."
Accord said the latest killing was different. Past Somali victims have been found in public spaces such as parks.
"Obviously the three people who killed the innocent man was came in through the community. They came in where our restaurant is, they came in where our store is ... roam around with a gun.
"If you are a young man, in this age, Edmonton become death trap. That's the message we're getting last night."
Accord said it had been suggested to him that the community set up its own reward system. How that would encourage members to co-operate with police remained to be seen.
He said the Somali community was angry and that he personally received over 80 phone calls from people who were scared.
"Where can you be safe?" he posed, adding the latest killing had his people looking for accountability.
"There is a lot of blame to go around. Me included ... I've been blamed that I haven't done enough to prevent some of the [violence]. I don't know ... who's going to take the responsibility, I don't know."
Reaction to Accord's suggestion that city officials had let his community down was unmistakable.
"Well that's not fair at all," Mayor Stephen Mandel said of the accusation his officials were to blame.
"We've met with individuals and a variety of groups with the Somalian community.
"We've set up an African Centre which has a great deal of participation from the Somalian community. We've worked diligently to try to integrate and work with the Somalian community.
"We're trying very hard and I don't know who's saying that in the Somalian community because the people I know there are very supportive of the city and what we're trying to do."
Mandel touched on what appeared to be an issue of trust.
"And that's a big challenge too ... trying to get people of newer communities to say our police are safe and secure. They're not going to hurt you – they want to help you.
"So we would hope that the perpetrators of this were sure known to some people in the city of Edmonton and their names will come forward to the police who can solve the crime."
Reaction was also sought from Fadumo Arab, mother of 23-year-old Abdul Kadir Mohamoud who was found in Grand Trunk Park near 109th Street and 130th Avenue almost exactly a year before the latest slaying. Mohamoud had been beaten and shot to death.
"It's sad, all of them ... we're feeling sad and we live in pain," Arab said from Ontario.
"My son and so many innocent kids – they die for nothing. We feel we live in the belief that doesn't have the law."
An autopsy conducted December 1st confirmed that 23-year-old Robleh Ali Mohamed died of a gunshot wound to the head.
Police said Mohamed's death was not believed to be a random act. However, a motive had yet to be determined.
Mohamed's father was reported to be returning to Edmonton from where he was working in Fort McMurray, with his mother flying in from Ontario. The two were expected to meet with Edmonton police officials once they arrived.
Members of the Somali community said Mohamed was well-known, popular and a frequent pool player at the African Safari Restaurant.
He was also well-known to city police who knew he had lived in Alberta for the past five years and in Edmonton for the past 12 months.
Police appeal to witnesses
At a media briefing, the lead investigator on the case outlined some of challenges police faced.
"In any investigation where we don't have witnesses coming forward – specifically in this instance – I know for a fact that we had a time lapse of probably about 25 minutes before the police ended up getting called," Acting Staff Sgt. Dan Collins said.
"We have what we believe is a number of witnesses that were in and around the area that haven't come forward to the police.
"We need those individuals, whether they were of Somalian descent or any other witnesses to come forward and talk to us," Collins pleaded.
Police said they were considering an intiative that would see Crimestoppers representatives speak to members of the Somali community to foster confidence in the anonymous tip submission process.
About the victim, Collins offered little.
"This individual was known to police," he said. "We do have some background."
Neither would Collins speculate on whether Mohamed's death was tied to other Somali murders.
"We are not about to start discussing linkages," he stated. "It's too premature."
Also at the briefing it was revealed that the drug and gang unit was involved in the investigation.
While media were in a frenzy to connect dots between the now nine recent slayings of Somali men, one local community broadcaster offered a more reasoned perspective – read more »
"We don't know why he died, why people killed him," Jaamac Jaamac pointed out.
Jaamac hosts Arragtide Bisha (The View of the Community), a Somali music and talk program on CJSR 88.5 FM. The evening after Mohamed's murder, the station's switchboard lit up.
“People are feeling they are threatened. They are not safe anymore,” Jaamac said.
Not all of the men were killed because of drug or gang connections, he told the Edmonton Journal. However, the Somali community has done little to shed light on the slayings
"What I was hearing from the police chief, and the mayor, last year, is that the community should speak up," Jaamac said.
"The time for handshaking is over. Something has to be done, and someone has to stop this killing machine."
Jaamac happened to be having lunch in the African Safari restaurant when men ran in saying someone had been shot.
The radio host said that while such killings in his community had become a familiar story, speculative assumptions were too-easily reached.
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News of Mohamed's death on the heels of eight other recent and similar Somalia murders in the Edmonton area made even the CBC's National News take notice – read more »
During her December 1st, 2009 report, Linda Calvert tried to make sense of the senseless violence, drawing on those affected to offer insight.
Ahmed Hussen, president of the Canadian Somali Congress, forwarded a widely-held theory.
"Some of the shootings suggest turf wars and drug activities," Hussen said.
But Mahamad Accord offered a less-certain viewpoint.
"What's going on? I mean ... why this thing happening to our community?"
Calvert reported that the asking of questions was almost as popular a pastime as finger-pointing.
"The police are the one who responsible for our safety and the safety of our community," Accord contributed.
Edmonton police have been seen extending a hand to establish trust within the community ... but a lack of trust on the community's part has dogged investigative efforts in the area's nine Somali murders.
"It's important – and I'll make the statement – that people come forward and give that information to assist us in solving those files," Acting Staff Sgt. Dan Collins said.
Calvert concluded her piece (which can be seen here) by saying that most of those involved agree that the Somali bloodshed on Edmonton streets will likely continue.
Funeral
Like so many Somali men before him, on December 2nd, 2009 Robleh Ali Mohamed was honoured by family and friends at the Canadian Islamic Centre, 13070 113 Street – read more »
Mohamed's parents and three siblings were in attendance. No one from the family spoke to media but Mahamad Accord offered a brief statement.
"We've been down this road before ... and the only thing we can say is the family is grieving," the community leader said.
CJSR radio host Jaamac Jaamac seemed resigned that he may have the last words about the death of Mohamed and the other Somali men slain.
"I hope this will be the last and I hope, if not, we will get the clear indications what's going on – why and who is the killers," Jaamac said.
He didn't want to be a regular Joe Blow
Robleh Ali Mohamed's family broke their silence in an interview with the Edmonton Journal. His sisters spoke of an ambitious man who had an eye on starting his own business – read more »
The 23-year-old grew up in Ottawa with three older sisters, Milgo, Hibo and Hodan, and his parents. There he attended French elementary and high schools, was on the basketball team and was considered an expert on cars.
Four years ago Robleh moved to Calgary to look for work. He came to Edmonton last year, Milgo told the Journal.
"He wanted to do big things in life, he just didn't want to be a regular Joe Blow, do the Monday to Friday thing. He wanted to go far in life and make his family proud of him," she said.
In high school Robleh developed an interest in business.
"He was very business-minded, always thinking about how he can go about starting his own business.
"He came to the west just because it was a nice change ... there was opportunity for growth with the big boom happening," Milgo said.
The fashion business caught his imagination, and Robleh thought about staring his own clothing line. He had been working on a logo for the company, Milgo said.
"That was kind of like a good thing, we were really proud of him," she said.
People will best remember Robleh for his good looks and charming personality, Milgo said.
"He was very respectful, he knew how to talk to people whether you were a kid or an older adult. Adults especially were always shocked by this, because he was always respectful towards them, he addressed them with the respect they deserved," she said.
"He was a good-looking kid, very handsome, tall, dark skin and big, big brown eyes. Even as a kid, people would just fall in love with him. He was the cutest kid ever."
As the youngest child and only boy in the family Robleh was often spoiled, according to his sister.
"No matter what, he's not going to be forgotten in our memories. He's going to always be around. Everybody will always remember him."
"This is not a Somali problem"
On December 4th, officials from the Somali community, the Edmonton police, and an MLA gathered inside the Alberta Somali Community Centre at 10212 127 Avenue to address the media ... and the issue of stereotyping – read more »
"This is not a Somali problem. Every time a homicide occurs in this province, it's our problem," Thomas Lukaszuk proclaimed.
The Alberta MLA for the Castle Downs subdivision represents the highest concentration of Somali residents outside the downtown core.
He was flanked by Ahmed Hussen, president of the Canadian Somali Congress, Mahamad Accord, executive director of the local Somali Centre, and Acting Staff Sgt. Dan Collins of the police homicide section.
Together they presented a united front, hoping to cool down some of the rhetoric expressed immediately after Robleh Mohamed's death.
Ahmed Hussen spoke to the growing list of young men of Somali origin slain on Edmonton streets.
"That is a shocking number for any community to absorb and it is even more shocking for a community that is relatively new to Canada," he said.
"This shouldn't be seen as a quote-unquote Somali problem," Hussen added, hoping to dispel the perception that the local violence had ties to conditions in Somalia, a failed state nation. He indicated most of the victims were Canadian-born, including Mohamed.
"He celebrated his first birthday in Canada. How does that relate to what happened in Somalia?"
Missing from the puzzle, however, was the origin and motives of those responsible for the carnage.
"Using the word 'Somali' a lot kind of takes away from the fact that these are Canadians. They're not just a loss to the Somali community – they are a loss to the city of Edmonton, they are a loss to the province of Alberta and they are a loss to the government of Canada," Hussen said.
"We cannot figure out why this thing keep happening. So many of our young men are wasted in such a tragedy," Mahamad Accord said.
"You have to admit that there is a problem. There is a problem – we need help. We need help for anybody."
Accord did his part to patch over relations.
"There's no blame game, there's no finger-pointing," he said. Still, Accord wondered how Mohamed's death could have taken place.
"The last victm, he was within his community. I was there, to trouble somebody I could be dead.
"What does this say about our society if somebody came in in the middle of the day, shoot somebody and walk away?
"What does this say about Edmonton – what does this say about Somali?"
Accord pleaded for his community and citizens at large to provide aid.
"By helping the police, that means we are helping ourselves. And it's not only our community's job – it's everybody's job.
"When somebody as young as those who are lost from our community [dies] it's a loss to everyone.
"There's a segment of the people who may have – not only a mistrust in the police, but they have many other motives not to come forward," he said.
"Those are the people we want to work with them, in order to communicate with the police."
Accord offered a few words on behalf of Mohamed's family.
"They cannot express their grief of losing a young son in such a tragedy," he said.
Acting Staff Sgt. Dan Collins brought those gathered up to speed concerning the investigation.
"From a homicide perspective, we need anybody that may have seen something, that may have been a witness to this or may have heard something to come forward," he said.
"And again, not specifically to the Somali community but to the citizens of Edmonton ... we know that there were individuals, both on foot and in vehicles, that came into that area that have not yet come forward to police.
"It's by the help of the public that we end up solving these issues."
Collins praised the Somali community for opening up to police.
“We don't have all communities coming forward,” like they do, he said. "I believe that we've made great strides in our relationship with the community."
Collins concluded by saying police had received an unknown number of tips through Crime Stoppers and from the community, but no suspects had been identified.
CBC Edmonton's coverage of the meeting can be seen here.
Edmonton police asked those with information about Mohamed's shooting to contact them 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 Edmonton Police Service website entry for Robleh Ali Mohamed 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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