Two Edmonton men charged in brutal Cambridge Bay assault

Yahoo

17-07-2025

In Edmonton, surgeons operated on Wednesday to put pins into 28-year-old Nathan Angulalik's broken hands.
Four men — including two from Edmonton — have been charged in connection with an assault on Angulalik and another Cambridge Bay resident in Nunavut on July 8.
Around 4 a.m. on July 8, Cambridge Bay RCMP responded to a report that two men had been assaulted and taken for medical treatment.
'Preliminary investigation indicated that two male suspects, known to the victims, assaulted them with a weapon in a residence on Tuktu Street. Both victims sustained serious injuries and were flown south for further treatment,' said Sgt. George Henrie of the RCMP.
Waterboarding and severe beating
According to Nathan Angulalik's sister, Natasha Angulalik, the two Cambridge Bay residents were confined and beaten with tools and tortured with what sounded like waterboarding.
'Him and (the other victim) got tied up to a chair,' she told Postmedia.
'They covered their faces with a towel and started pouring boiling water on them,' she said.
'They hit them with shovels and hammers all over their body.'
The Cambridge Bay woman said her brother had hobbled to their cousin's home two doors down, and her cousin messaged that her brother had been beaten and an ambulance brought him to the health centre.
'I was really scared and worried that he would die,' she said.
Their dad made the journey to Edmonton to be with the former city worker as doctors worked to care for his wounds, she said.
'It was really hard for Nathan to breathe, because he had a punctured lung,' she said.
A laceration on his head was from being hit with a shovel, she said.
Natasha Angulalik said the suspects were known to the victims as drug dealers pushing crack cocaine.
With 1,760 residents, Cambridge Bay is the largest of two hamlets on Victoria Island.
Drug dealing seems to have gotten worse there since the beginning of the year, Angulalik said.
On July 10, the four suspects were identified at the airport where they were waiting for a flight out of town. They were recognized by locals, who called the police.
They were taken into custody by Cambridge Bay RCMP with the assistance of the Iqaluit detachment's general investigative section, said an RCMP news release.
Angulalik said her family is grateful her brother is healing, and happy that he didn't die.
She's hoping for more prevention of drug-related crime in the small Arctic community.
'I think they should be making sure, like at the airport, they have things that could detect drugs and handguns before they come to Cambridge Bay,' she said.
'This is our hometown.'
Packed town hall
At a town hall meeting this week, more than 90 community members in attendance shared their concerns with Mayor Wayne Gregory, MLA and Justice Minister Pam Gross and Acting RCMP Supt. Kent Pike and other RCMP representatives, according to the Kitikmeot Inuit Association.
'The KIA appreciates the openness of these officials and urges them to act upon what was shared with them quickly and efficiently to avoid a repeat of similar events and the fear they caused. The KIA is a working member of the Cambridge Bay inter-agency team that will be tasked with developing and implementing some of the measures that are needed to protect Cambridge Bay,' the KIA posted.
'The KIA is committed to working towards solutions as part of this team that not only protect Cambridge Bay from the damage and fear caused by the free flow of narcotics and criminals into this community, but to also develop measures that will protect all Kitikmeot communities.
'Fear and criminal activity have no place in Cambridge Bay and/or the Kitikmeot.'
Points arising from the town hall event included a community ready alert test for important safety updates, bringing in an RCMP drug detection dog, working with territorial and federal partners, including the Northwest Territories and federal ministers, to improve security for mail and travellers through Yellowknife.
A second community meeting is expected to be held soon.
Charges laid
Police have charged Ly Gabriel Galido, 22, and Ayaan Kamran Warsi, 18, both of Edmonton, and Hadi Alhashesh, 19, of Chilliwack, B.C.
Their charges included two counts of aggravated assault, possession of a firearm without a licence, two counts of forcible confinement, two counts of pointing a firearm, trafficking a controlled substance, possession of property obtained by crime, robbery with a firearm.
Police have also charged Joshua MacPherson, 19, of Cambridge Bay with two counts of assault in relation to the July 8 incident.
Alhashesh, Galido and Warsi were remanded into custody with their next court appearance scheduled for July 29 in Iqaluit.
Galido has recently faced other charges in the North.
According to multiple media reports, after RCMP surrounded a Hay River home on Feb. 18 on reports of alleged forcible confinement, Galido was remanded to RCMP custody for firearms charges, including possession of a firearm while knowing possession is unauthorized, possession of weapon for dangerous purpose, and unsafe storage of a firearm.
MacPherson was released from custody after the Cambridge Bay arrest, and his next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 8 in Cambridge Bay.
The RCMP said the investigation is ongoing, and police encourage anyone who may have information that can help with the investigation to contact Cambridge Bay RCMP at 867-983-0123.
Persons with information who would like to remain anonymous can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
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