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A Sierra Leonean identify as Mohamed Lamin Fofanah, 20, and Mya Abialmouna, 21, were found with gunshot wounds in a vehicle in northeast Edmonton in Canada on Tuesday 7th March 2023.
Edmonton newcomer community is in shock after two young people were shot dead last week including a man whose brother was killed in a homicide less than one year ago.
Abu Conteh, a leader in Edmonton’s Sierra Leonean community, of which Fofanah was a member, said the homicides have many on edge and looking for answers.
“The community is shaken,” he said. “The deceased lost his elder brother just six months ago (under) similar circumstances.” “This is not a common phenomenon in our community,” he added. “We are not used to gunshots… so something like that was just a blow for us.”
According to police, officers were called to a weapons complaint near 132A Avenue and 66 Street, in the city’s Delwood neighborhood, at 7:35 p.m. on March 7.
When officers arrived, they found Fofanah and Abialmouna in a vehicle suffering from gunshot wounds. Despite treatment from EMS crews, they died at the scene.
Their deaths were later ruled homicides, with detectives appealing for home security and dashcam footage from anyone in the area around the time of the shooting.
According to Conteh, Fofanah’s brother, Alhaji Fofanah was found dead near Red Deer six months ago. RCMP says a hunter found the 24-year-old Red Deer resident’s body on an oil lease road in Mountain View County on Sept. 12, 2022. His death has also ruled a homicide. Conteh said there are between 700 and 1,000 people in
Edmonton’s Sierra Leonean community, many of whom are looking for answers. The local community association plans to set up a committee to better understand the violence, to see “what’s going on, not just for the deaths, but also for a few other things that are happening.”
“Then we can propose an approach to finding a solution to the problem
Fofanah’s family, meanwhile, has launched an online fundraiser to cover funeral expenses.
“Our family and the Sierra Leone community is devastated,” wrote the poster, who identified herself as Fofanah’s parents’ niece. “Six months ago Mohamed created a (GoFundMe) page for his big brother and today we are creating one for him. This is unbelievable, but God knows best.”
