2 arrested, 3rd suspect wanted for murder in killing of Winnipeg soccer player

Two men have been arrested and a third is wanted for first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of 22-year-old Winnipeg soccer player Mohamed Yusuf Abdullahi last summer.

Abdullahi was shot in the parking lot of the Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex July 13 after he had just finished playing soccer at the Canada African Cup of Nations tournament. He later died in hospital.

All three suspects are believed to have been spectators at the tournament that day.

The Winnipeg Police Service has maintained it was a targeted shooting. At a press conference Tuesday, Const. Dani McKinnon said investigators believe the killing is linked to the “criminal underworld of drugs, and with that potentially some gang ties.”

READ MORE: ‘The sorrow is deep’: Memorial for Winnipeg soccer player, 22, fatally shot after tournament

On Jan. 20, officers arrested 26-year-old Ibrahim Bangura. And on Feb. 5, police arrested 27-year-old Norbert Kipala at the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre where he was being held in custody on an unrelated matter.

Both men are facing first-degree murder charges.

Homicide investigators are searching for 22-year-old Tresor Horimbere, who they believe was also involved in Abdullahi’s death and was an acquaintance of the victim’s. He is wanted Canada-wide for first-degree murder and authorities say he is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached.

Horimbere is described as approximately five-foot-eight with a slim build, weighing 120 lbs. There is a “strong likelihood” he is in Ontario, according to McKinnon, because of his ties to the province.

“All means of trying to find him at this stage are now at the point where police are asking for public assistance,” McKinnon said.

There is another warrant out for Horimbere’s arrest by Ontario Provincial Police for 2023 firearms offences in the Hawkesbury area, a small town east of Ottawa.

Anyone with information about his location is asked to contact 911 (and reference the case file C24-161487), the homicide unit at 204-986-6508 or anonymously at Crime Stoppers 204-786-TIPS or winnipegcrimestoppers.org.

Friends and family have said Abdullahi was a dedicated family member who gave back to his community, highlighted by his coaching of young children.

After fleeing the civil war in Somalia, Abdullahi’s family moved to Canada in 2014.