Killer vows to end ‘vicious circle’ of violence before heading to prison

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This article was published 29/01/2025 (422 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Abdullahi Jemal Ahmed opened fire on a crowd of rival gang members at a Winnipeg cemetery and then expressed disapointment when he learned only one of his targets — 21-year-old Hayder Hassan — had been killed in the surprise attack.

Ahmed told friends he “intended to hit everyone” and was “mad that he… only got one person,” Crown attorney Libby Standil told court Wednesday before a judge sentenced him to life in prison with no chance of parole for 16 years.

Given an opportunity to address court, Ahmed told King’s Bench Justice Gerald Chartier he regretted the shooting and hoped to one day mentor young men who are at risk of falling prey to his same mistakes.

“I thought I was on top of the world and could do whatever I wanted to do without consequences,” he said. “It’s hard to find words to express how sorry I am for my actions.”

Chartier urged Ahmed to do his part to stop the “vicious circle” of gang violence, which he described as a “street to nowhere.”

Ahmed, 28, was originally charged with first-degree murder in the April 2021 killing, but in a plea deal with prosecutors, he entered a guilty plea to second-degree murder, thereby avoiding a mandatory minimum 25-year prison sentence.

In the nearly four years since Hassan was slain, Ahmed fired two sets of lawyers and had two trials cancelled. The plea deal brings “finality” to the case, Standil said, noting had Ahmed been convicted after trial, he likely would have appealed, which would prolong the case again.

Ahmed and Hassan were both Somalian refugees, born amid violence, who overcame great obstacles to come to Canada only to later become mired in street gang warfare.

Court heard Hassan was part of a group that had gathered at Thomson in the Park Funeral Home and Cemetery to celebrate the birthday of fellow gang member Rig Debak Moulebou, who was fatally shot as he slept in a South Pointe home on Nov. 4, 2019.

Moulebou was killed in retaliation for the slaying of Jamshaid Wahabi, a high-ranking gangster and close friend of Ahmed’s, who had been killed at Citizen Nightclub on Bannatyne Avenue two days earlier.

Moulebou died before he could be charged in Wahabi’s death, but was identified as the killer during a jury trial in December 2021, when three men were found guilty of killing Moulebou.

Court heard Ahmed was driving around the city with another gang associate when he learned Hassan and other rival gang members were at Moulebou’s gravesite. Ahmed, who believed the gang members were also responsible for a home invasion at his mother’s house, directed his companion to drive to the cemetery.

After pulling over to the side of the highway, Ahmed, armed with a loaded handgun, got out of the car, and walked through a ditch and field as he approached the cemetery.

“To be clear, the accused had been going about his day when he hears that his enemies are assembled at the gravesite,” Standil said. “When he goes to the cemetery, he knows he is going to be confronted by a group that is likely armed.”

Gang members saw Ahmed approaching and demanded he identify himself. Ahmed pulled out his gun and opened fire, sending the gang members scrambling for cover.

Hassan was shot in the heart.

Ahmed pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last week, at which time he claimed the rival gang members fired the first shots.

While there is some forensic evidence to suggest other shots were fired, it is impossible to determine which side shot first, Standil said.

“Any suggestion that Mr. Ahmed acted in self defence, even if the other side fired first, is preposterous,” she said. “The accused made a series of decisions that day. His actions were deliberate…. As he told his friends after the fact: he wanted to kill more people.”

Hassan went by the nickname “Baby face,” a playful reference to his inability to grow a moustache, and was described by family members as “bubbly and outgoing,” Standil said.

“At the time he was killed he was making bad decisions, but that doesn’t erase the person he was,” she said. “His loss is felt greatly.”

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca