Shock and grief as mourners gather to remember 16-year-old homicide victim in Halifax

The Muslim community in Halifax is expressing outrage and sadness over the loss of a teenage boy killed earlier this week in what police have ruled a homicide.

The Kearney Lake Masjid, a local mosque, was packed with mourners Wednesday afternoon for a wake and funeral prayer for Ahmad Al Marrach, 16, who came to Canada from Syria as a refugee eight years ago.

Imam Hamzah Mangera said the high school student had been struggling to settle in his new country, but was beginning to see positive change.

Mangera asked youth to gather around Al Marrach's casket following the prayer to reflect on the boy's death and the fragility of life.

He said many youth are struggling to make sense of their peer's killing, and he urged them to remain calm and not resort to vigilante justice.

Al Marrach was found injured in a parking lot next to the Halifax Shopping Centre just before 5 p.m. Monday. Police said the teen was taken to hospital, where he died.

Halifax Regional Police said Tuesday they have released the two youths who were arrested on a Halifax Transit bus shortly after Al Marrach was found injured.

No charges have been laid in the case and police have said the investigation is ongoing.

A group of boys remember Ahmad Al Marrach at a Halifax-area mosque on Wednesday. (Dave Laughlin/CBC)

Police have not said how Al Marrach died. However, Rana Zaman, a local activist who met with Al Marrach's family following his death, said the teenager was stabbed.

The act of violence, she said, is evidence "that we, as a society, are failing our children."

"The feedback I'm getting from other moms, messages are being sent, other children are saying, 'We feel unsafe, we're going to carry knives, too. We need to protect ourselves,'" she said.

Zaman also said the family was disheartened when police released the two youths without laying charges.

"They [the family] did not come here to cause problems. They came here seeking refuge."

Event for youth to grieve 

Ummah Masjid and Community Centre was expected to host an event Wednesday evening to help youth process the death.

"As youngsters, they go according to what social media is saying," Mangera said. "We're just requesting them to not pass on any wrong information because wrong information can lead to wrong actions as well."

Hanaa Rashid, director of social services at the centre, said the death of the boy who attended the mosque for prayer has been overwhelming.

She described him as a typical teenager who liked to hang out with friends and ride his scooter.

"I'm grieving. There's a lot of grief. A lot of shock. It's something we never expected, and of course it's overwhelming" Rashid said.

MORE TOP STORIES