Police arrested one man and were looking for another Monday in the fatal shooting of a Good Samaritan in Hamilton, a case that also prompted the city’s paramedic service to investigate its response to the incident.
Yosif Al-Hasnawi — described by police as a brave young man who was trying to do the right thing — was shot when he tried to intervene as two men were accosting an older man in downtown Hamilton on Saturday night.
Police say they arrested a 20-year-old man in connection with the shooting at about 3:30 a.m. on Monday and charged him with accessory after the fact to murder.
They say a second-degree murder warrant has been issued for Dale Burningsky King, 19, who is alleged to be the shooter. Detectives say he should be considered armed and dangerous.
The two suspects turned on Al-Hasnawi when the 19-year-old tried to help an older stranger, police said.
“This young man was doing what he felt was right in the situation,” Det. Sgt. Steve Bereziuk told reporters. “He was a brave young man.”
Police said paramedics took Al-Hasnawi to hospital on Saturday night, where he died of his injuries.
Some witnesses, however, criticized paramedics who responded to the shooting, saying Al-Hasnawi was clearly in distress but wasn’t taken seriously.
“They thought he was acting. The man was in severe pain inside his abdomen, why would he act?” said Talib Al-Jalili, who explained that Al-Hasnawi had come out of the Al-Mostafa Islamic Centre when the incident took place.
“He saw an old man walking by here with two people who were trying to harass him, assault him, hit him, laughing at him,” Al-Jalili told reporters on Sunday.