Brock student shot dead
Yosif Al-Hasnawi, 19, was coming to aid of man outside Hamilton mosque
A 19-year-old “Good Samaritan” was shot dead in central Hamilton after trying to stop two men from harassing an older man on the street outside his mosque.
Yosif Al-Hasnawi, the oldest of five children and a first-year Brock University student with aspirations of becoming a doctor, was attending a religious celebration at the Al-Mustafa Islamic Centre on Main Street East near Wentworth Street Saturday night when he stepped outside with a friend and a younger brother, said homicide unit Det. Sgt. Steve Bereziuk.
That’s when he witnessed some sort of altercation where two men were accosting another man, described as being a senior. When AlHasnawi told them to stop, police say the two men then turned on Al-Hasnawi and one of them shot him on Sanford Avenue at about 9 p.m.
“This is a result of him literally trying to help, a Good Samaritan,” Bereziuk said. “It’s very sad.”
In a statement, Brock University president Gervan Fearon said the community was “shocked and deeply saddened” to learn of Al-Hasnawi’s death and offered “deepest sympathies to his family.”
Witnesses at the scene described hearing a single pop of a gun. There was little blood and several people initially thought he had been shot by a BB gun — but it was a handgun, police said.
At the mosque Sunday, family friends and brothers Talib and Tariq Al-Jalili said they had just come from the grieving family’s home and were at the Islamic Centre to begin funeral preparations.
Talib called Al-Hasnawi a “hero,” and described him as a kind young man who was like family to many in the community.
“It’s a terrible loss for the community,” he said.
Erin Fabello was inside her apartment when she heard the gunshot. Her boyfriend went outside and then came back to say he thought it was a BB gun.
Hamilton Police have arrested one of two men wanted in connection with Hasnawi’s murder after they identified two suspects, thanks to public assistance.
One suspect, 20, was found at a downtown home and arrested without incident at 3:30 a.m. Monday. James Matheson is charged with accessory after the fact to murder, and was to make a first appearance in court Monday afternoon.
The other suspect, Dale Burningsky King, 19, is wanted for second-degree murder. Police are appealing to him to turn himself in.
Both suspects are known to police, said Bereziuk.
Al-Hasnawi was a talented athlete both in basketball and boxing. The family came to Canada from Iraq. He is Hamilton’s ninth homicide victim of the year. Police do not believe he was targeted because of his race or religion.
At the scene Sunday, a large stretch of roadway was taped off by police along Sanford from Main to Cannon Street East. Throughout the neighbourhood, alleyways that run between businesses and houses were also restricted by crime scene tape, and a police incident command vehicle was parked on Sanford.
The road was reopened by about 3:30 p.m.
Police were canvassing the neighbourhood throughout the day Sunday, looking for witnesses and any surveillance video.
Neighbours said Al-Hasnawi was found on the sidewalk on the northeast side of Sanford, close to Main, and that a crowd gathered around him as police arrived.
Tom Raczynski said he heard yelling, but initially didn’t think much of it as that’s common in the neighbourhood.
When he went outside he saw a man lying on the sidewalk and bunch of people around him.
“Everyone was all around him,” he said.
As he approached, police moved in and started to clear everyone back. Raczynski said the man was still moving as he watched him being loaded into a waiting ambulance.
He was transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at abput 10 p.m.
This is the fourth homicide by shooting in the city this year, including the last three homicides in a row.