Somali-Canadian community fears further loss of life
CBC News
Posted: Jul 12, 2012 6:30 PM ET
Faduma Mohamed told CBC News she has sent some of her children back to Somalia because she thinks it is safer for them there than on the streets of Toronto. Faduma Mohamed told CBC News she has sent some of her children back to Somalia because she thinks it is safer for them there than on the streets of Toronto. (CBC)

3 victims of recent gun violence rest in same cemetery

Play iconToronto's Somali-Canadian community is fearful that they could lose more of their young to violence, John Lancaster reports .Calling for Somali ceasefire2:20 Toronto’s Somali-Canadian community is fearful that they could lose more of their young to violence, after a spate of shootings has left three men dead since the start of June.

The community has mourned the loss of Abdulle Elmi, Hussein Hussein and Ahmed Hassan, all of whom were shot dead before their 30th birthday over the past six weeks.

Elmi, 25, was shot dead and his body was left on a Etobicoke street on July 5.
His body has been laid to rest in the same North Toronto cemetery as Hassan, his 24-year-old cousin who was killed in the June 2 shooting at the Eaton Centre that left another man fatally wounded as well.
Hussein is also buried there. The 28-year-old was shot in an apartment near Yonge Street and Highway 401 on June 23.

Their deaths follow the slayings of more than two dozen young men from the Somali-Canadian community who have died in Alberta in recent years. Most of those victims had ties to Toronto. With the loss of so much life, community members in Toronto are looking for answers.

Focus on mothers Ali Abdullahi of the Somali Youth Association of Toronto said that an effort has been made to reach out to women in the community, to ensure that they are aware of the dangers and temptations their children may be facing.

"What we’ve been doing lately is been working with a lot of the mothers who have a lot of say in the community," said Abdullahi.