Thursday February 8, 2024
Toronto police have identified a third suspect wanted in connection with an east end shooting that killed a mother of two back in July.
In a news release on Wednesday, police said Ahmed Ali, 19, is wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for manslaughter and robbery with a firearm. He is believed to be in Somalia.
Karolina Huebner-Makurat, 44, died in hospital on July 7, 2023 after a shooting in Leslieville.
Huebner-Makurat had been walking in her neighbourhood in the area of Queen Street E. and Carlaw Avenue shortly after 12 p.m. when police say there was a physical altercation between three males. Two of them pulled out handguns and exchanged gunfire.
Huebner-Makurat was hit by a stray bullet. Police have said she was an innocent bystander. She was also known as Caroline.
That altercation took place near a supervised consumption site and area residents said they had been raising concerns about safety in the neighbourhood for months.
In July, police charged the first suspect, Damian Hudson, 32, of Toronto, with second degree murder.
In August, police arrested and charged the second suspect, Ahmed Mustafa Ibrahim, 20, of Toronto, with manslaughter, robbery and failing to comply with the terms of his probation.
Pickering woman Khalila Zara Mohammed, 23, was also arrested and charged with accessory after the fact to an indictable offence and obstructing justice in connection with the case, police said. She worked at the nearby supervised consumption site.
3 suspects involved in drug trade, detective says
Homicide Det.-Sgt. Henri Marsman told reporters at a news conference Wednesday that police believe the altercation among the three males was a robbery involving drugs or money or both and that Ali was one of the three males.
According to Marsman, police believe Ali and Ibrahim were together and attacked Hudson.
“These three people were involved in the drug trade and had an altercation as a result of that,” Marsman said.
He said police believe Ali fled the country shortly after the shooting. He is known to police.
“At the time, he wasn’t a suspect. He wasn’t on our radar. Since we’ve identified him, and we’ve done background checks, we realized he had left shortly after the murder,” Marsman said.
Ali is described as six feet tall, about 130 lbs., with a thin build and long dark hair worn in braids. Police released images of him on Wednesday.
Marsman said police are “making efforts” through interpol to locate Ali but would like the public’s help in locating him. He said he doesn’t believe Canada has an extradition treaty with Somalia.
He said he hopes Ali makes arrangements to surrender to police or that his family convinces him to do so.
Shooting prompts review of consumption sites
Following the shooting, Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones launched a “critical incident review” of the province’s 17 consumption and treatment services sites.
The Ministry of Health also appointed a supervisor for the site in Leslieville, giving this person full decision-making authority on any improvements to the site’s operations and safety that may come follow a separate, third-party review of the Leslieville site, which is being completed by Unity Health Toronto.
With files from Julia Whalen, Muriel Draaisma and The Canadian Press
