Hundreds are expected to attend a vigil at Brock University for a student who was fatally shot in downtown Hamilton last weekend.
“Yosif really seemed to have lived his life in the service of others and it seems that’s also how he passed away.”
The fourth-year medical sciences student is working with a team to invite friends, family, students and the Hamilton community to pay their respects to Al Hasnawi.
The 19-year-old was killed while trying to defend a man who was being accosted near the Al Mustafa Islamic Centre on Main Street east last weekend.
Jafry says the vigil is a place to remember and to process the shock.
“He had such relatable dreams.”
“He wanted to become a doctor, he was a promising athlete,” she said. ” Clearly someone with incredible potential.”
Jafry says it will also be a place to discuss the circumstances surrounding his death.
“We would want all of Hamilton to know and really all of Canada to know that for us the tragedy is more than just a grave injustice in the way that he was killed.”
“Very recently some of his family members also reached out to us, in talking about the mistreatment that he faced when he was injured and paramedics arrived on scene.”
Hamilton’s paramedic service has responded to complaints saying it’s investigating how Al Hasnawi’s injury was handled.
The vigil will take place at 3 p.m. Friday at Brock University’s Pond inlet.