Motive behind soccer player’s slaying after Cup of Nations game unknown Dozens of spectators at complex during shooting; 'Someone may have valuable information,' say police By: Erik Pindera Posted: 12:54 PM CDT Monday, Jul. 15, 2024 Last Modified: 5:14 PM CDT Monday, Jul. 15, 2024 Updates

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Police believe a fatal shooting outside a Waverley Street soccer complex after a game late Saturday was targeted, but the motive behind the slaying remains unknown.

The player was shot multiple times in the parking lot of the Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex in south Winnipeg after a Canada African Cup of Nations match between teams made up of players with connections to Eritrea and Ghana, respectively. The well-attended game ended at about 11:30 p.m.

The victim was Mohamed Yusuf Abdullahi, 22, of Winnipeg.

“Very disturbing, very concerning,” Winnipeg Police Service spokeswoman Const. Dani McKinnon said Monday of the circumstances of the shooting.

Police, including heavily armed tactical officers, rushed to the facility after a 911 call and arrived at about 11:47 p.m., where they found the victim suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

Officers gave Abdullahi first aid before paramedics rushed him to hospital in critical condition. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Detectives determined Abdullahi had just finished playing and was leaving the event when he was gunned down.

“Investigators do not believe this was a random shooting,” McKinnon said.

She said the shooting does not appear to be connected to the game, participants or spectators at the tournament. Abdullahi played for the Eritrean team, but Cup of Nations president Gode Katembo said Monday he was not sure whether he was from Eritrea or simply playing for that team.

Katembo did not know Abdullahi personally but called him a “phenomenal” soccer player.

“He’s a good young man. He was a man that was loved by many, not just in the soccer community, but his community at large,” he said.

Detectives do not yet know whether the shooting was related to an interpersonal dispute, organized crime or another motive.

No one else was injured, but McKinnon said other people in the parking lot witnessed the shooting. She said about 100 spectators who had watched the game were still at the soccer complex.

“Someone may have valuable information to assist in this investigation,” McKinnon said.

Police have asked anyone who saw anything suspicious at the event to contact homicide detectives at 204-986-6508 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 204-786-8477 (TIPS) or online.

McKinnon added police are seeking to review any photos and videos taken at the event.

The tournament, launched as the Manitoba African Cup of Nations in 2019, sees African immigrants and international students play for teams representing their home nations to bring together different communities.

Katembo said the tournament his non-profit organization runs is also meant to get young people off the streets and onto the soccer pitch.

The killing was not sparked by the game, he said.

Katembo said organizers were cleaning up, as he thanked people for attending in the media box, when he heard what he thought was the sound of fireworks.

“By the time I stepped out of the media box, all I could see was people running from the parking lot back to the complex. At that moment, that’s when I realized something was wrong,” he said.

His organization’s vice-president called 911 as Katembo directed people into the complex’s clubhouse.

It has been a difficult time for Katembo and others since the slaying, he said.

“I’ve been trying to be strong, but it’s been sleepless… The tragedy, the trauma — I myself come from a refugee background, and when we see violence, we see war, it brings a lot of pain and a lot of grief and a lot of insecurities because we came to this country to find a home, so we can make our life better… so that we can be part of society and contribute,” he said.

“We just went to a soccer game, and this happened — it could have been me. It could have been my cousins, my brother, my sister — this could have been any of us. Where are we supposed to find hope?… It’s quite saddening.”

Katembo added that his non-profit is working with religious and mental health organizations to provide supports.

McKinnon said detectives, who have been working “around the clock” on the case, have spoken with community leaders involved in the event and with the victim’s family.

Abdullahi’s slaying is the 23rd in Winnipeg this year, though city police include the 2023 deaths of two children in their internal 2024 homicide statistics.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca