Guyanese man stabbed to death outside Toronto mosque
A Guyanese man, was fatally stabbed outside a northwest Toronto mosque just over a week ago, according to the Canadian Press.
Mohamed-Aslim Zafis was said to have spent his last hours as he did countless ones before — volunteering at a northwest Toronto mosque and helping those in need.
On Friday, Toronto police announced the arrest of a 34- year- old man, Guilherme “William” Von Neutegem, a Toronto resident, for the murder.
Inspector Hank Idsinga said Von Neutegem was charged with first-degree murder.
At the time of the fatal attack, Zafis was sitting in a chair at the International Muslims Organization ( IMO) mosque on Saturday, September 12, when the accused allegedly walked up and stabbed him. A motive has yet to be given for the murder. Police are also exploring the accused’s possible link to the September 7 fatal stabbing of a homeless man, Rampreet Singh, 39, whose body was found under a bridge less than 5 km from the mosque.
Zafis, 58, was remem
bered by friends and family at his funeral last Wednesday as a “kind, gentle soul” who, even on the day he was killed, handed out food to the hungry and worked to keep his fellow worshippers safe, the report said.
“He was an incredible man,” Zafis’s nephew, Zahir Zafis, said through tears.
“He never had any negative thoughts or words.”
Several hundred mourners gathered in the parking lot of the International Muslim Organization in Etobicoke to say goodbye to Zafis, just metres away from where he was stabbed to death on Saturday evening, the Canadian Press report said.