Windsor homicide witnesses sought

Police in Windsor are urging witnesses of a deadly shooting early Sunday to come forward.


Chief Gary Smith said his department could use "whatever assistance" the public can give.

"Any information you can give, either through Crime Stoppers or calling our major crimes unit, please do," he said. "That's how we're successful."

Blood stains the ground of a parking lot on Pelissier Street in downtown Windsor, after a shooting early Sunday morning that killed 23-year-old Mohamed Mohamed Yousef. Police are asking witnesses to come forward. ((Kim Kristy/CBC))

The shooting happened on Pelissier Street, just north of Wyandotte Street, at about 2:20 a.m. ET during an argument between a group of males, police say.

They are looking for a white, full-sized SUV, similar to a Cadillac Escalade, that was seen leaving the parking lot where the shooting is believed to have taken place. Police say it headed southbound on Pelissier Street, travelling the wrong way on the one-way street.

The victim, 23-year-old Mohamed Mohamed Yousef, suffered a single gunshot wound to the back and was pronounced dead at Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital.

'A loud bang'

Christian Aldo was in his apartment on Pelissier Street when the shooting happened. He described seeing "a small group of guys" chasing a larger group into the parking lot, shouting at them.

"And then I heard a loud bang and I saw a white SUV take off out of the parking lot at about 100 miles an hour," Aldo said. "I heard some yelling, and I saw friends sort of gathering together and people becoming very, very upset, falling to their knees and crying."

Aldo said his first thought was, "Oh no. Again," referring to previous shootings in the area. "I've been living here four and a half years and quite often I actually saw the guns actually go off."

3rd downtown shooting in 3 weeks

This is the third shooting in downtown Windsor in three weeks.

Mayor Eddie Francis, who chairs the police services board, called the shooting "tragic" but insists the city remains safe.

"Obviously, people that have decided to take out these type of violent acts are choosing one particular area and they're choosing a particular time," Francis said. "So let's not let that reflect poorly on the rest of the downtown or the rest of the city."

The two other shootings happened on Sept. 10 and 20.

Police don't think the three shootings are related, Smith said, but "that doesn't account for stray bullets."

"So if you see anything suspicious, if you see it looks like tempers are flaring, you should probably call us right away," he said.