Man fatally shot at Richmond Hill funeral served time for manslaughter: court documents

York Regional Police have identified the 26-year-old man murdered in a brazen shooting at a Richmond Hill cemetery on Thursday afternoon.

Investigators say Ayub Hirsi Ali of Barrie was one of two men wounded at the Toronto Muslim Cemetery on Leslie Street around 3:30 p.m. Thursday. Ali was transported to hospital in life-threatening condition and succumbed to his injuries. Police believe Ali was targeted.

A 27-year-old man who was identified to Global News by funeral goers as an Uber driver was also wounded. York Regional Police say he remains in hospital in serious condition.

Ahmed Mohamed tells Global News the shooting happened while the funeral for his little brother Gidid Mohamed was winding down. The 27-year-old Toronto man was fatally shot outside a Somali social club near Lawrence Avenue and Weston Road early Tuesday morning.

“We heard gunshots. We ran away from the street,” said Mohamed, explaining that the gunfire was heard coming from the entrance to the cemetery.

A 37-year-old man was also wounded in Tuesday morning’s shooting but survived. Mohamed’s brother says that man, who was shot in the leg, was also attending the funeral when bullets began to fly.

No arrests have been made in either case, but York Regional Police say they’re looking for three suspects who fled the cemetery in an SUV, travelling north on Leslie Street. The suspects are described as male and were wearing hoodies and masks.

In September 2015, Ayub Hirsi Ali, then 20, was arrested by the Toronto police guns and gangs unit for first-degree murder in the death of Kabil Abdulkhadir, who was shot outside the downtown Toronto Marriott a month earlier.

According to court documents obtained by Global News, a jury convicted Ali of the lesser charge of manslaughter in June 2018. He was sentenced to nine years in prison less pre-sentence custody leaving three years and 11 months to serve.

Dozens of police officers spent the day at the Toronto Muslim Cemetery on Friday, continuing their forensic investigation of the scene including using metal detectors to look for evidence.

People who came to pay their respects to loved ones buried in the cemetery were shocked to see the crime tape.

“Unbelievable,” said one man who came to visit his son’s grave only to learn the cemetery was closed due to a shooting, unaware there had been a murder here.

Another woman who was visiting a grave on Thursday at the time of the shooting and returned on Friday said that it was terrifying and she wondered why there was not more security at the cemetery.

Investigators are asking witnesses who were at the cemetery Thursday afternoon who have yet to come forward, to contact them. They’re also seeking video surveillance from the area or anyone that may have captured dashcam video on Leslie Street.