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Nakoa Ramsey Thomas, 21, was shot on October 13th, 2011.

Thomas was Edmonton's 43rd homicide victim of the year.

Case status is open and active.

Just before midnight late on October 13th, 2011, police received a volley of calls reporting shots had been fired in an alley east of 69th Street and south of 132nd Avenue in the Balwin neighbourhood.

Police arrived to find a male in his early 20s believed to be suffering from gunshot wounds lying next to a vehicle in a parking lot behind the three-storey Bayview Manor apartment building.

He was rushed to hospital where he soon died.

Police descended on the scene, blocking off 132nd Avenue and containing the area – see additional images »

There was also a heavy police presence at nearby Balwin School (where 22-year-old Somali Nasir Mohamad Said was found dead from a gunshot wound on September 16th, 2008).

"As the result of some sort of an altercation, one gentleman was found on the ground, transported to hospital where he since passed away." Insp. Brian Nowlan said.

Early reports indicated the man was targeted and a number of people were taken into custody at the scene for questioning.

"It's very early on in the investigation, and we have several witnesses that we are talking to," a police spokesman said.

"As is often the case, they can have different accounts. We are trying to identify some consistency and derive some sort of suspect description."

Police later described the suspect as a black male who was seen leaving the scene in some sort of vehicle.

When dawn broke, police were still at the scene and school was about to start – read more »

As residents watched, the normally quiet residential neighbourhood turned into a real-life episode from a forensics TV crime show. Many didn't hear anything overnight but most weren't surprised that something sinister had taken place – read more »

One man said his daughter had heard a scream overnight but that was nothing new for the area.

"There are always loud parties there," he said.

Another man, Walter Porter, said the neighbourhood was generally quiet and friendly.

"This is a terrible surprise," he said, however adding the building was known throughout the neighbourhood as a "magnet for drug deals."

A woman living within sight of the crime scene was shocked by what she saw in the morning light.

"Yeah, it's ... unbelievable," Barb Godziuk-Lupino said.

"We didn't know what the heck was happening and then looked on the deck and seen the police tape and the investigation unit and yeah it was scary.

"Didn't think it would happen so close to home," the woman said about what looked like the city's latest murder.

"That's sad, very sad. Having a nine-year-old daughter, what is it going to be like when she gets older?

"When I was growing up, mom and dad didn't have to watch us. We could go around the block riding our bike. We could go and walk and meet our friends for a pop after supper. But you can't now."

The seven-year Balwin resident was concerned for her daughter's safety.

"Her being in Taekwondo, it's not for the discipline – it's more the self-defence," Godziuk-Lupino said.

A woman who has called Edmonton home for almost 70 years also reflected on the way things used to be.

"When I was a kid, if you had one homicide in the city it was a big deal ... things have changed," Ellen Greeley said.

"You never used to be afraid to let your kids go to school on their own. My kids always walked to school," she said. "Now you have to drive them."

The incident had some speculating as to what was behind the man's death.

"I don't think it's gangs, but I see cars stopping late and honking horns," Robert Desjarlais said of late-night activity in the area.

The resident recalled police finding the body of 22-year-old Somali Nasir Mohamad Said in a nearby playground just over three years before.

"They never did find that boy's murderer from over behind the school," Desjarlais said.

More recently, on March 25th, 33-year-old Bullen Ambassa was stabbed to death at the Village Acres apartment complex near 67th Street and 130th Avenue – about four blocks away.

For Bawlin residents, a murder in the neighbourhood was a once or twice-in-a-lifetime event. For police, it was the fourth in a week, with each death adding to their workload and sense of frustration.

"Unfortunately, these types of situations seem to be occurring in a variety of neighbourhoods throughout the city," a police spokesman said.

"Our analysts have been trying to come up with some sort of a commonality between them and that's where they're struggling."

With daylight now flooding the scene, crime scene analysts flooded the area – see images »

Evidence was collected from a metallic-gold late-model Chevy Trailblazer which was later loaded onto a flatbed truck and taken away. The SUV was missing its rear, passenger-side window. How it was connected to incident wasn't revealed.

Friends and family identified the slain man as 22-year-old Nakoa Ramsey Thomas. Police had yet to confirm any details other than the victim may have known his killer and that a gang angle was not being actively pursued.

It was later revealed that at the time of his death, Thomas was visiting a former girlfriend pregnant with his baby. Friends of the man were with him when he was shot and it was they who had called police.

On October 16th, 2011, autopsy results confirmed that Thomas had died from a gunshot wound, making him Edmonton's 43rd homicide victim of the year.

Police said that despite speaking to several witnesses they still had no clear suspect description other than that he was a black male.

"As you can appreciate, witnesses to an event like this are going to be traumatised, so right now it's trying to come up with some consistency in that information," a spokesman said.

"That's where the struggle is. Get these people comfortable to get that recall back and to remember some of the information that might have been lost at the time just because of the stress of the situation.

"There are five witnesses to this who have right now been trying to provide information as it relates to an actual suspect description and a description of a vehicle that was seen that scene."

The spokesman also issued a plea.

"Just call and share whatever you have with us. It might be that one piece of information that could help our detectives. Put this to a positive end and solve the case.

"We can never get enough information. We'd rather be in possession of too much – and a lot of it could be dismissed or whatever – we would rather be on that sort of side of the equation," the spokesman said.

Nakoa Thomas attended Eastglen High School and worked in residential construction, doing scaffolding and plastering among other jobs.

Growing up, his favourite sport was soccer and he was once the recipient of a scholarship to attend Camp U of A.

He had plans to join the police force or the military ... or go to business school, hoping eventually to operate his own scaffolding or contracting business and take care of his family. Thomas' Facebook page stated he worked for Superior Exteriors – read more »

Friends erected a memorial at the site where he lost his life a week earlier.

A wake and funeral soon followed.

Those with information about the death of Nakao Thomas 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.

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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deadmonton 2011 - nakoa ramsey thomas