Three of four suspects known to Toronto police, one sought on unrelated warrant for attempted murder
Natasha Farah of Toronto
By Annalise Klingbeil and Dylan Robertson, Calgary Herald
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
The bystander fatally shot in downtown Calgary early Saturday morning was a dedicated and caring PR professional, who had recently moved to Calgary from Toronto.
Three people are in police custody and a fourth man is being sought.
Natasha Mohamed Farah, 26, was killed around 3 a.m. Saturday outside the Bronco Smokehouse Saloon nightclub on 11th Avenue and 1st Street S.W.
“She loved life. She loved dressing up. She loved going out and meeting people. She was very professional and she was not a partier,” said Danielle Iversen, Farah’s former boss.
Farah graduated from an intensive public relations program at Toronto’s Humber College in 2012 and she spent five months in 2012 as an intern at Iversen’s company.
“She really had a knack for PR ... She loved going to our events and meeting the clients and taking care of people,” Iversen said.
“She cared about her internship.”
Members of Calgary’s Somali community gathered Monday evening at a Christie Park mosque to pray over a plain, wooden coffin.
About 50 people drove together to a Muslim cemetery outside Cochrane, where Farah’s coffin was lowered into the ground. Deceased Muslims are traditionally buried by sundown the day of their death, though investigators in this case couldn’t release the body until an autopsy had been done.
Women wiped their tears with head scarves as men stood holding their chins in silence. Many told the Herald that three close family members were in attendance.
Calgary police took one man into the arrest processing centre Monday evening but said he was a witnesses found to have outstanding warrants for unrelated events.
The circumstances behind Farah’s death remain unknown but police said the shooting did not appear to be targeted.
They were called to the Beltline intersection around 3 a.m. Saturday for reports of gunfire.
When officers arrived, they found Farah suffering from a gunshot wound. She was pronounced dead on scene.
Staff Sgt. Michael Cavilla of the homicide unit said police believe four people were together in a car when multiple shots were fired from the vehicle. Investigators aren’t sure whether the car was moving at the time.
“There was a number of people around,” Cavilla said. “We’re extremely fortunate there was only one person hit by a bullet.”
Police said three individuals were arrested at a hotel in Calgary’s Motel Village in the northwest.
All three arrested are known to the Toronto Police Service, Cavilla said. One was being sought by the Toronto police on a Canada-wide warrant for attempted murder. As of Monday afternoon, police continued to question the three, and wouldn’t say how they became known to Toronto police.
Cavilla said officers also identified and located a silver Volkswagen Jetta that was seen leaving the scene of the shooting.
Police are also seeking a fourth person in relation to the fatal shooting.
The man is described as black, approximately 20 years old, five foot eleven and about 160 pounds. Police said he often wears a gold medallion around his neck.
Cavilla said police don’t believe there were two groups fighting with each other that led to the shooting.
“Nothing has come to light to the investigative team so far that would indicate there was a target in the close proximity to the victim,” he added.
Investigators would also like to speak to witnesses and are asking people to send any related photographs or videos to [email protected]
The crime marks the city’s 23rd homicide of the year.
[email protected]
[email protected]