Two arrested, one sought in fatal shooting after summer soccer game

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This article was published 11/02/2025 (244 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two men have been arrested and a third is wanted for first-degree murder in connection with the shooting of a soccer player as he left a game in southwest Winnipeg last summer.

Mohamed Yusuf Abdullahi, 22, suffered multiple wounds in what police believe was a targeted slaying in the parking lot of the Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex shortly before midnight July 13.

“There is an aspect believed to involve the criminal underworld of drugs, and with that, potentially, some gang ties,” police spokeswoman Const. Dani McKinnon said Tuesday.

Investigators believe the suspects were in a crowd of more than 100 spectators at a Canada African Cup of Nations game that Abdullahi had played in just before the homicide.

McKinnon said the suspects may have covered their faces at the game. The complex is located at Waverley Street and Victor Lewis Drive.

Two men — Ibrahim Bangura, 26, and Norbert Kipala, 27 — are in custody charged with first-degree murder.

Bangura was arrested in Winnipeg on Jan. 20. Kipala was arrested Feb. 5 at a Thunder Bay, Ont., jail where police said he was being held on an unrelated matter. Court records show he faces drug, gun and other charges in that city.

A Canada-wide warrant was issued for a third suspect, Tresor Horimbere, 22, on the same murder charge. Horimbere, who has family and friends in Winnipeg, could be in Ontario, McKinnon said.

“He’s considered armed and dangerous, so police ask not to approach him if you know of his whereabouts. Please call 911,” she said.

Horimbere was an acquaintance of Abdullahi, she said, noting all three accused are known to police.

The Criminal Code defines first-degree murder as planned and deliberate. A conviction carries an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.

Abdullahi and his family arrived in Canada in 2014 as refugees after escaping civil war in Somalia, mourners were told at a July 20 memorial.

He was remembered as a youth full of promise and a talented soccer player who had organized a training camp for kids, and was interested in auto mechanics.

At the time, police said they believed the shooting was targeted, and not directly connected to the tournament.

Homicide detectives spoke to more than 100 people, and worked with the community, Abdullahi’s family and tournament organizers during the investigation, McKinnon said Tuesday.

Gode Katembo, founder and president of the Canada African Cup of Nations, thanked police for the arrests, which he said brought a sense of justice, but will not erase the pain of losing a community member.

“This tragic event has had a huge impact on our community. It was heartbreaking for all of us,” he said. “Violence has no place in our community, our city and our province.”

The tournament is intended to bring people together and create a safe space for youth. Security was increased for the rest of the 2024 competition after the shooting.

Organizers are working with a security company while they plan this summer’s tournament. Katembo, who did not know Abdullahi on a personal level, said names of the accused men were not in a database of past African Cup of Nations participants.

In November, police sought the public’s help to locate Horimbere. An appeal from the missing persons unit said he was last seen around the 400 block of Langside Street on July 2, less than two weeks before the homicide.

It was unclear if he had been identified as a suspect in the homicide when the November appeal was issued.

Horimbere is wanted by Ontario Provincial Police for alleged firearms offences in an unrelated incident in Hawkesbury, a town east of Ottawa, in 2023, McKinnon said.

OPP spokesman Const. Eric Ranger said Horimbere is being sought for alleged involvement in a robbery.

Winnipeg police asked anyone with information about Horimbere’s whereabouts to call 911, detectives at 204-986-6508, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 204-786-8477 (TIPS) or online.

Court records show Kipala, of Ottawa, faces charges in two drug-related cases in Thunder Bay.

He was charged with offences in April including possession for the purpose of trafficking and unauthorized possession of a firearm.

Kipala was then charged with offences including possession for the purpose of trafficking, resisting a peace officer and failing to comply with a release order in October.

In the latter case, a Thunder Bay police news release said officers, along with the OPP’s organized crime enforcement bureau, seized suspected cocaine, cash and drug trafficking paraphernalia.

— with files from Dean Pritchard

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca