Murder charge stayed against man accused in slaying at soccer complex
Crown prosecutors have stayed first-degree murder charges against one of the three men accused in the shooting death of a 22 year old at a Winnipeg soccer complex last summer.
Mohamed Yusuf Abdullahi, 22, suffered multiple gunshot wounds in what Winnipeg homicide detectives believe was a targeted slaying in the parking lot of the Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex shortly before midnight July 13, 2024.
Crown prosecutors entered the stay of proceedings on Ibrahim Bangura's murder charge on May 13 after they determined his 'involvement is different than the co-accused,' a provincial government spokesman said.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES
Mohamed Yusuf Abdullahi was killed in what police described as a targeted slaying in the parking lot of the Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex shortly before midnight July 13, 2024.
No further details were made public.
Bangura, who was 26 when homicide detectives arrested him in Winnipeg on Jan. 20, was one of three co-accused.
Norbert Kipala was 27 when he was arrested Feb. 5 and charged with first-degree murder.
He was picked up at a Thunder Bay, Ont., jail, where he was being held. Court records show Kipala faces drug, gun and other charges in that city.
A Canada-wide first-degree murder warrant for the third suspect, Tresor Horimbere, remains active. Horimbere has not been arrested, Winnipeg Police Service spokeswoman Ally Cox confirmed Tuesday. He has family and friends in Winnipeg but could be in Ontario, police have said.
SUPPLIED
A photo of homicide victim Mohamed Yusuf Abdullahi that was displayed at a memorial at the Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex last July.
Investigators believe the suspects were part of the 100-spectator crowd watching a game at the complex on Waverley Street and Victor Lewis Drive. Abdullahi played in the Canada African Cup of Nations match just before he was gunned down.
The killing is not suspected to be directly connected to the tournament.
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The suspects may have covered their faces at the game to avoid identifying themselves, police have said.
Police suspect the drug world and possible gang connections may have played a role in the killing.
Abdullahi and his family arrived in Canada in 2014 as refugees after escaping civil war in Somalia, mourners were told at a memorial last year.
SUPPLIED
A Canada-wide first-degree murder warrant for the third suspect, 22-year-old Tresor Horimbere, remains active.
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.
erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca
Erik PinderaReporter
Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik.
Every piece of reporting Erik produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
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