EDMONTON — In the past two years, Fouzia Mohamed has cried so much her pillow covers have not dried.
That’s what the grieving mother told Court of Queen’s Bench on Friday after learning two men had been found guilty of second-degree murder for the brazen slaying of her son, Mohamed Ali Ibrahim, outside the busy River Cree Casino in 2008.
She had harsh words for her son’s killers, Adam
“They killed my son in a merciless manner,” she said in a victim impact statement read in court by a supporter. “And they endangered the lives of so many people that night.
“They don’t deserve a second chance to walk free in the world again because they did not give my son a second chance.”
Mohamed attended every day of the weeks-long trial against Brown and Reid. When the judge announced his verdict on Friday, Mohamed quietly hugged those around her while other members of the Somali-Canadian community who have attended the trial expressed relief.
Court has heard the shooting occurred after a short fight in the early morning hours of Aug. 30, 2008, between Ibrahim and his friends, Reid and Brown. The two groups moved outside the casino’s lounge after being kicked out by security guards.
Justice Paul Belzil found that Reid and Brown were punched several times during the fight and had expressed a desire for retaliation. He said Crown prosecutors proved they both had the motive to commit the murder.
Forensic evidence showed Ibrahim, 24, had been hit with bullets from two guns.
Video cameras were set up around the casino, but there was no footage of the shooting. Defence lawyers for Reid and Brown argued there wasn’t enough evidence to prove the identity of the shooters.
Belzil pointed to a sworn statement to police by a friend of Brown. In the statement, the friend told police that after the fight, he and Brown went to their car but Brown left the car for about 30 seconds, during which time he heard a burst of gunfire.
When Brown returned to the car, he told the friend, “We shot that guy,” and “The guy had to get shot.”
During the trial, the friend testified that he lied in his statement to police and claimed they drove home right after the fight.
Another witness also gave testimony during the trial that contradicted her sworn statement to police. In the trial, the woman claimed to remember virtually nothing of that night, but in a statement to police, she identified Reid as a shooter.
Belzil said he believed her initial statement to police. Numerous other witnesses testified to seeing a man fitting Reid’s description in the area of the shooting.
The case was also plagued by a number of witnesses who did not arrive when expected and alleged threats against some witnesses.
In her victim impact statement, Mohamed said her son was “the anchor” of her family’s ship. She said he was engaged to be married and was also helping in his sister’s wedding preparations.
“I am not only crying for the loss of my son, but the result of this loss.”
She said she has been waiting more than two years for the justice system to take its long course.
“I believe in our justice system even if my faith has been shaken from time to time.”
Reid and Brown were also convicted of assault with a weapon for injuring another woman in the shooting. She recovered.
Sentencing submissions are expected in December.
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