Four injured in shooting at Muslim cemetery in Canada

Published March 12, 2016
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers man a road block leading to a Muslim cemetery near Cochrane, Canada, Friday, March 11, 2016.—AP
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers man a road block leading to a Muslim cemetery near Cochrane, Canada, Friday, March 11, 2016.—AP

COCHRANE: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said four men were shot at a Muslim cemetery just outside of Calgary on Friday afternoon.

Sgt. Jack Poitras said the shooting happened near Cochrane and the injured people were being treated at Calgary hospitals.

A police spokeswoman at the scene said all suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Police said there was a funeral at the cemetery and a group of people remained at the site following the service.

A Calgary police vehicle sits outside the Foothill Hospital, where injured Muslim people are treated in Calgary, Canada, Friday, March 11, 2016.—AP
A Calgary police vehicle sits outside the Foothill Hospital, where injured Muslim people are treated in Calgary, Canada, Friday, March 11, 2016.—AP

Poitras said it appears the shooting involved people who were in the group.

Zouheir Osman, who is in charge of the cemetery, said a service for a 21-year-old man was taking place before the shooting. He said he left shortly before the shots were fired.

Osman said he didn't believe the shooting had anything to do with the man being remembered at the funeral.

However, Calgary Imam Syed Soharwardy said he spoke with two people who attended the funeral and they suspect the shooting was gang-related.

“It did not seem to be a hate crime,” Soharwardy said. “It looks like it was a turf war or gang war or some type of revenge.”

The funeral was for a Pakistani man named Hamza Nazir, said Soharwardy, who knows the family. He said he doesn't know the cause of the young man's death.

Despite police assuring the public there was no danger, a heavily armed police tactical team remained outside the Calgary Foothills Hospital on Friday evening.

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