A 25-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing of a 19-year-old man outside a South Vancouver nightclub last year.
Naseb Fazil was killed during a fight outside Gallery Vancouver on May 23, 2022.
Mohammed Cortes Torres, who was a resident of Surrey at the time, was arrested Sunday with help from Saanich police. Vancouver police said Tuesday they believe Cortes had been living on Vancouver Island.
According to police, the fight broke out around 3:30 a.m. outside the club. Officers arrested a 24-year-old suspect at the time and found Fazil suffering from life-threatening stab wounds.
Police, paramedics and firefighters all tried to save him, but he died of his injuries in the hospital.
Fazil’s family has told Global News they believe he was innocent, jumping in to help the injured, although police have not confirmed that.
Fazil was a graduate of Burnaby Central Secondary School who had just started a new job while pursuing business studies. He wrestled, played several team sports, and loved his local mosque.
“He was such a pure-hearted person,” his sister Muzhda Fazil told Global News last spring. “When we’d get into annoying sibling arguments, I couldn’t even raise my voice properly.”
Fazil’s father, Nazir Fazil, said his son was always laughing and smiling. His nickname for Fazil in Arabic was “soft,” for his beauty, his soft skin and gentle demeanour.
The family came to Canada from Afghanistan as refugees 10 years ago, seeking safety from the Taliban. They chose Canada because it was the safest place they could think of — “more humanity, more peace,” Nazir described.
“It ruined my life. It broke my hopes,” added Fazil’s older brother, Naseer Fazil of his brother’s death. “Until my brother passed away, I was thinking Canada is a safe country.”
Naseer said last year his blood would not “cool” until justice has been served in his brother’s death. The family said they also want justice for all families who have lost loved ones to violent crime in the city, as they are sick of hearing about “death after death after death” in Vancouver.