Innocent bystander fatally shot in downtown Hamilton was a ‘caring person with a good heart,' says brother

CTV News

13 hours ago

Belinda Sarkodie, 26, was killed in a shooting in downtown Hamilton on Friday, July 11, 2025. (TikTok photos)
A 26-year-old woman who was killed in a double shooting in downtown Hamilton last Friday was a 'caring person with a good heart,' according to her brother.
Richard Sarkodie said his sister, Belinda, was the youngest of three kids, and was her mother's best friend. He said that they were the only ones who lived in Canada, adding that Belinda called him and their mom every day after work and that he and Belinda spoke on the phone every Friday – her day off.
'I tried calling her throughout the night and no one was answering the phone,' he said.
Belinda Sarkodie, who arrived in Canada last year from Ghana and was working in Hamilton, was hit by a stray bullet late last Friday afternoon after gunfire broke out on King Street East, near Jackson Square shopping centre. She died at the scene.
A man in his 20s was also shot. He suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to the hospital.
The shooter, meanwhile, fled the area on foot.
Sarkodie said his sister was the 'only one' he'd call when he was going through a challenge in his life.
'She would be like, 'No, no, you know this happened in the Bible. This too shall pass.' And we just laugh and then it would be okay,' he shared, adding that Belinda was planning to move to Manitoba with him in the near future.
'It was quite unfortunate that this all happened because I already planned everything. I moved out from where I was and then she was about to join me in a few months time and (then) this tragedy happened. It's not been easy.'
Richard Sarkodie
Richard Sarkodie, the brother of a 26-year-old woman fatally shot in Hamilton on July 11, speaks with CTV News Toronto.
Victim had 'aspirations,' says Ghanian association
Emmanuel Duodu, the president of the Ghanian Canadian Association of Ontario, called Belinda a 'lady who had aspirations.'
'She was very enthusiastic about what she wanted to accomplish in this country,' he said.
Belinda Sarkodie
Belinda Sarkodie, 26, was killed in a shooting in downtown Hamilton on Friday, July 11, 2025. (Hamilton Police Service handout)
The woman's colleagues showed up at the scene on Friday night to pay their respects.
They said she was waiting for the bus with a boy they know at the time of the deadly shooting.
'They were talking and he told me he just turned and later turned back to tell her did you hear gunshots, (and) when he turned back to look at her she was just lying on the floor full of blood,' Grace Nasiru, the victim's co-worker, said on Friday.
Nasiru knew Sarkodie for seven months.
'She's a likeable person. Her boss likes her at work. Everyone around her likes her,' she said.
'(Belinda) just laughs it over. She's just a good person.'
Sign bullet holes Hamilton
A bullet-riddled sign is seen near the scene of a fatal July 11 shooting in downtown Hamilton.
Today, a sign near the scene of the shooting could be seen punctured with bullet holes.
'I heard like firing, like after each other, like tuf tuf tuf tuf, and I see like people running then I went like inside and I hid in the office,' said Shehad Amghazami, who witnessed the incident..
Police searching for a teenage boy they believe is responsible for shooting
On Sunday, Hamilton police obtained permission to identify 17-year-old Hamilton resident Mackale Lavoie, whom they believe may be responsible for the deadly double shooting.
They say he's wanted for one count of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.
'Investigators are actively looking for Mackale and encourage him to reach out to his lawyer and make arrangements to turn himself in,' Det. Stf. Sgt. John Obrovic said on Monday afternoon.
He said police believe Mackale 'encountered' three individuals downtown and that they 'appear' to be the intended targets.
This investigation in ongoing and anyone with further information is asked to contact Hamilton police at 905-546-4925 or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
With files from CTV News Toronto's Allison Hurst