Calgary police have charged three people in connection to a deadly shooting in the community of Forest Lawn on Friday.
Emergency crews were called to a house in the 2400 block of 47 Street S.E. at around 4:50 p.m.
When they arrived, officers found 23-year-old Abiem Kuol Abiem dead inside the home.
Calgarians Matiop Nyok Okich, 21, Benjamin El-Ajak Nyiker, 23, and Akieg Bol, 20 have all been charged with first-degree murder in connection with Abiem’s death.
Abiem’s mother Mary Malueth said her son was forced out of his home at gunpoint and taken to his cousin’s house in an attempt to lure his cousin outside. She said when her son tried to get away, he was shot.
“My son tried to get inside the house, and then his cousin pulled him inside,” Malueth said. “They started pushing and pushing – closing the door.”
Each man is also facing a kidnapping charge.
During a Monday news conference, Insp. Don Coleman said the kidnapping charge was laid in connection with a separate, female victim who was “involved in the incident but not a willing participant.”
“I believe the secondary victim was involved prior to – and after – the homicide itself.”
Coleman said the kidnapping victim wasn’t injured.
Police said Abiem’s death “was not random” and that he and the men accused in his death were all known to police.
“I don’t know that it’s gang related,” Coleman said. “But it’s a large group of people that are all known to each other.”
Investigators are working to determine a motive for Abiem’s death, but Coleman said he believed there was a “dispute of some kind.”
Police don’t believe Friday’s deadly shooting in Forest Lawn was connected to a shooting the next day in the community of Bridgeland which sent one man to hospital.
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help cover the costs of Abiem’s funeral.
Anyone with information on either incident is asked to call Calgary police at 403-266-1234 or contact Crime Stoppers.
With files from Tracy Nagai
Comments