A man known to Edmonton police was killed late Sunday night in what homicide detectives called a targeted attack.
“There is no doubt this is a targeted attack and this is a group of individuals involved in criminal activities, and they’re definitely on the police radar,” said Staff Sgt. Bill Clark with the EPS homicide section.
Police identified the victim late Monday afternoon as Abdi Latif Hirsi. A family member told Global News the 27-year-old’s full name is Abdilatif Mohamud Hirsi.
Police said officers were called just before 11 p.m. to the Hollick Kenyon Estates condo building parking lot near 162 Avenue and 51 Street, where they arrived to find a man dead inside a black BMW car riddled with bullet holes.
Watch below: A shooting in the parking lot of a northeast Edmonton condo building has left some area residents on edge. Vinesh Pratap reports.
A witness told Global News his wife heard about five gunshots, then hear seven more after he went outside.
In a video sent to Global News, up to 19 shots can be heard being fired off. The video did not show the shooting taking place.
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“We do believe, at this time, we know the identity of the male — who is very well known to police,” Clark said on scene. “There has been multiple issues with a group of males that this male associates with.”
WATCH BELOW: Edmonton homicide detectives are investigating a deadly shooting on the city’s north side. As Kendra Slugoski explains from the scene, police say it was a targeted attack.
The Edmonton Drug and Gang Enforcement Unit (DGE) was on scene helping homicide detectives with the investigation. Clark said several witnesses had been taken to a police station to be interviewed.
“As usual, we have several people here who know the victim who are being totally uncooperative with police, which is typical in these types of investigations and we will see what we can do to get to the bottom of it.”
Clark added there wasn’t a risk to the general public.
“These individuals are targeting, you know, their own groups and that type of activities,” he said. “It’s definitely not an attack on an innocent person by any means or an innocent bystander.”
Clark said one or two suspects fled the scene in a grey-coloured sedan. The vehicle was last seen speeding away from the scene, headed west on 162 Avenue.
“If anyone saw that, or may have obtained a license number we’d sure appreciate a phone call about that.”
Anyone with information about the shooting or the suspect vehicle and its occupants is asked to contact police at 780.423.4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online.
Police said they have yet to make any arrests in connection with the shooting.
An autopsy has been scheduled for Tuesday.
Crime in the area
In March 2017, Kristi Schienmann, 30, was found dead in a suite in the same northeast Edmonton building. Timothy John Crowe, 34, was charged with second-degree murder. Crowe and Schienmann were married in 2014.
Earlier this year, the vehicle of a male homicide victim was found in the area of 51 Street and 162 Avenue, which is near the Hollick Kenyon Estates condo building.
READ MORE: Missing Edmonton man found dead last week may have died in 2017: police
At the time, police put up a large white tent in the area and said the investigation was related to an ongoing missing persons case. Police said Chad Stevenson, 41, died as a result of blunt force trauma and his body was found by utility workers in the area of 175 Avenue and 57 Street.
–With files from Global News’ Phil Heidenreich
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