22-year-old killed in shooting at Winnipeg soccer complex
Posted July 15, 2024 1:43 pm.
Last Updated July 16, 2024 9:17 am.
Winnipeg police say a 22-year-old man is dead following a shooting at the Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex along Waverley Street Saturday.
The WPS says officers responded to reports of a shooting in a parking lot at 11:47 p.m.
When officers arrived at the scene, they found a man who was unresponsive and who had been shot.
He was taken to hospital in critical condition, where he was later pronounced dead.
He has since been identified as 22-year-old Mohamed Yusuf Abdullahi.
The WPS says it learned through an investigation that Abdullahi had just finished playing soccer at the Canada African Cup of Nations tournament, and was exiting the event when he was shot.
“Investigators do not believe this was a random shooting and are seeking the public’s assistance,” said police in a statement.
“There were approximately 100 spectators present at the game, and someone may have valuable information to assist the investigators.”
Police say while it’s still in the early stages of their investigation, they have spoken to some of the 100 witnesses, who say the shooter is believed to be a man.
“We’ve spoken with the community leaders that have been involved in this event. We’ll continue to speak to the victim’s family and provide as much support as we can,” said Cst. Dani McKinnon, the information officer for the Winnipeg Police Service.
CityNews spoke to Gode Katembo, the president of the Canada African Cup of Nations, who says currently they don’t believe the shooting had to do with the match on the pitch.
“At the end of the game, I thought it was just fireworks. Until I saw people running towards the facility and that was the moment I realized something was off,” explained Katembo. “It would have been a different story if it had been the losing team retaliating to the winning team but that was not the case.”
Katembo added, “I know he was a great player. He was a young man that was loved by his community.”
Police are asking anyone with information to contact investigators at 204-986-6508 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-8477.
