Police on the hunt for robbers who shot Calgary businessman

By Lisa Geddes
Tuesday, December 9, 2014

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Three days after a prominent member of Calgary’s Somali community was robbed and shot in the face, police continue their search for two men.

Yusuf Mohamed was shot by the two masked men during a holdup Friday night at his money exchange store on 17th Avenue southeast. He survived but was rushed to hospital in critical condition.

Mudhir Mohamed runs a grocery store a few blocks away from the shooting scene and is a friend of the victim.

“He was a good guy who was a community man, who cares about what is happening with violence and all these things,” said Mohamed. “He was very helpful and was sponsoring sports and youth.”

Mohamed is also concerned about the impact of the shooting on businesses along International Avenue.

“The main concern now is security,” he said. “Some of the customers are now saying ‘oh guys, we are not coming here soon because it’s not safe.”

Just two months ago, Mudhir attended the funeral of Maqsood Ahmed, who was stabbed to death outside his store during a robbery.

“This is about in general the people who are living at Iternational Avenue, or Forest Lawn. “They need to be protected.”

A photo of Yusuf Mohamed, who was shot during a robbery at his southeast business.

Hussein Warsame has know Yusuf for 15 years. He says these these acts of violence need to be addressed not only by police and the community, but also by business owners who may need to step up their security.

“They would like to believe that Calgary is a safe city and they don’t have to hire a lot of expensive security guards,” said Warsame. “But it seems that maybe that’s not the case; maybe the police cannot be everywhere.”

Business owners are also concerned the assailants in both Ahmed’s murder and Yusuf’s shooting remain at large.

“Sometimes we say there is no difference between Mogadishu and Forest Lawn,” said Mohamed.

Last summer, Calgary police introduced a 16-member beat team dedicated to policing International Avenue along with regular district officers.

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