A man killed in a shooting two years ago and the trigger man were members of rival gangs, but evidence presented at trial for the shooter doesn’t speak “exclusively to a planned and deliberate murder,” a Winnipeg judge says.
Gunni Abdi Hassen had been charged with first-degree murder in the February 2022 death of Abdulwasi Ahmed, but Manitoba Court of King’s Bench Justice Chris Martin found him guilty of second-degree murder instead.
The decision, published Sept. 10, said in the early hours of Feb. 9, 2022, a gunfight erupted on Garry Street, between Portage Avenue and Graham Avenue. It involved a group including Ahmed, and a second party of two people, being 25-year-old Hassen and Tressor Nkuba.
Ahmed shot Nkuba and seriously wounded him, but didn’t kill him. Seconds later Ahmed was killed by a gunshot to his forehead and Hassen fled, the decision states. Hassen was arrested a month later and charged.
The Crown argued the two groups were members of rival gangs who had been clashing over drug dealing and “related tit-for-tat violence and killings” since 2019, according to the decision.
“They assert Mr. Hassen became aware of Mr. Ahmed’s whereabouts that morning and sought him out with the intention to kill him, for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with the Mohammad-Zarif Organization (MZO) and more particularly a sub-group dial-a-dealer cell, the Money Making Malis (MMM),” Martin wrote.
While he accepted Hassan and Ahmed were associates or members of rival gangs, Martin found there was no evidence to establish the killing was done “for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal organization.”
“Being a MMM gang member per se, does not mean every act done by him is for their benefit,” the decision said.
Martin also wrote that none of the evidence — some of which included cell phone data, route of travel after the shooting and post offence conduct — speak exclusively to a planned and deliberate slaying.
Details of shooting broken down in decision
The evidence presented during the trial, which took place over four weeks in May 2024, consisted of video snippets from many locations, GPS data, physical and forensic evidence, cellphone communication data and witness testimony from a person listed as R.L., who drove Nkuba and a person dubbed “Jimmy” — later deemed to be Hassen.
A video clip showed that around 3:29 a.m. a Chevrolet Equinox was parked near Bleachers Sports Bar on Fort Street, the next street east of Garry. R.L. testified “Jimmy” instructed him to park there, the decision said.
When “Jimmy” and Nkuba got out of the vehicle, R.L. testified he saw Nkuba pass a gun to “Jimmy” before the two men disappeared down a back alley. Video footage showed them walking down the alley to a parking lot, and then toward Garry Street.
At the same time, other video showed Ahmed’s group walking south on Garry, a short distance from the Bar Red Sea, past the Ultra Lounge and the adjoining building at 275 Garry Street.
At the same time, the decision said other video showed Ahmed’s group walking south on Garry Street, a short distance from the Bar Red Sea, past the Ultra Lounge and the adjoining building at 275 Garry.
Video time stamps then show Ahmed and Hassen’s groups crossed paths around 3:30 a.m. The evidence didn’t establish who shot first, or the sequence of shots, the decision stated.
Due to poor video quality it isn’t actually possible to see Hassen start shooting. But based on his stance, Ahmed started shooting within four seconds from what was later determined to be a 9 mm handgun.
Nkuba fell to the ground while Hassen moved further east in the parking lot, stopping where a car was parked. Ahmed remained in a shooting stance for another eight seconds or so.
Around 3:31 a.m. Ahmed raised his arms again into a shooting stance but collapsed almost immediately from a .40-calibre bullet to the head.
‘I find Mr. Hassen fired the fatal shot’
After the shooting, Hassen ran from the parking lot back to the parked Equinox.
While many people and a few vehicles went through the parking lot before the crime scene was secured it’s “fanciful thinking that the casings found close to where Hassen stopped, and relatively close to each other, could all have been disturbed or moved there from another location,” Martin wrote.
The judge also noted he didn’t accept Nkuba fired the fatal bellet because he himself was shot and in “considerable distress.”
“Considering all evidence and potential inferences, notably Mr. Nkuba being shot very quickly, the location of the .40-caliber casings relative to where Mr. Hassen is seen, observing Mr. Ahmed’s shooting over 15 seconds until he was felled and Mr. Hassen running after the last shot is heard, I find Mr. Hassen fired the fatal shot,” Martin wrote.
Based on testimony from R.L., Martin accepted Hassen had earlier been dealing drugs from the Equinox and passed by the Bar Red Sea when he saw Ahmed.
“At that point, Mr. Hassen did not return to his drug dealing. I accept he instructed R.L. to drive around the block, park at Bleachers and to wait for them,” Martin wrote.
“From the time he saw that person, to him leaving the Equinox on Fort Street, was a mere moment or so. Within this short amount of time, his planning and deliberating to specifically kill someone would have had to happen.”
Based on that, Martin wasn’t satisfied the murder was proven to be planned and deliberate rather than a heat-of-the-moment decision.