Third arrest in gas station homicide

The third and final 17-year-old girl wanted in connection with the stabbing death of a man who was found blood-soaked at a Stoney Creek gas station has been arrested in Toronto.

Hamilton homicide Det. Sgt. Dave Oleniuk said investigators now believe Hayder Qasim-Rushdi, 33, was killed during an attempted robbery that “escalated.”

He wouldn’t elaborate on whether police believe the robbery was planned, or what the three teenaged girls, who work in the sex trade, were trying to steal.

They are all facing second-degree murder charges and cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

The two other girls, one from Hamilton and the other from the Toronto area, turned themselves in to police Wednesday night and late Thursday morning.

Police believe the victim met the girls through an online escort listing on backpage.ca, and drove with them from Mississauga, where he lived, to Stoney Creek.

They pulled over in a secluded rural area where police believe Qasim-Rushdi was stabbed “in and around” the car.

After being stabbed in the neck, the bloodsoaked victim drove about five minutes away to a Pioneer gas station on Upper Centennial Parkway around 2:30 a.m. April 28, where people inside called 911. He died from his injuries two days later. The girls allegedly fled in a cab and stopped at an east Mountain address, where police executed a search warrant earlier this week. Police have also seized a knife they believe was used in the attack.

Oleniuk said homicide investigators consulted with police human-trafficking units while they were searching for the girls. However, he’s not aware of any active investigation into whether they had a “pimp.”