Multiculturalism in Canada.
The hunt continued Saturday for the shooter who left four men injured at a cemetery following a funeral west of Calgary the day before.
Hamza Nazir, 21, had just been laid to rest at the Muslim Cemetery outside Cochrane when an altercation broke out among some of the people who had attended the ceremony and shots rang out at 3:35 p.m., injuring four males.
At that point, most of the attendees had already left the funeral grounds, although some heard about the commotion as they drove back into Calgary, said Imam Syed Soharwardy, who didn’t attend but had spoken with people who were at the funeral.
The victims were taken in personal vehicles to Foothills hospital in Calgary with non-life threatening injuries. All are expected to make a full recovery.
As of Saturday afternoon, there was still no one in custody.
“The matter is still under investigation,” said Cpl. Marcia McDermott.
“As far as we know, there is no risk to the public.”
Mounties were back at the cemetery Saturday, monitoring traffic that came to the facility.
Shortly after the shooting, Calgary police joined the RCMP’s response to the attack, descending upon Foothills hospital in the city’s northwest and standing guard at the entrances.
A HAWCS police helicopter circled overhead.
At a news conference Friday, RCMP said they were still trying to work out the relationships between everyone at the funeral and whether the incident was gang-related. Mounties noted the victims were all of the same race.
“It appears that there were friends and family gathering for a funeral at this cemetery when an altercation broke out that ended with a gun fight,” Cpl. Sharon Franks had told reporters Friday, adding this is not considered a random incident.
The Muslim Council of Calgary said it was saddened by the events.
“Graveyards and cemeteries are considered sacred places and must be respected by all,” the organization said in a statement.
“At this point in time ... we are not entirely certain about the real motives of this undesired incidence.
“However, MCC does not feel that this event is related to any hate crime. MCC will continue to work closely with law enforcing agencies to help them conclude the investigations.”
— With files from The Canadian Press
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