Calgary

Calgary Boxing Day shooting victim was suspect in Ottawa murder

The victim of a shooting that Calgary police described as "brazen" was a 23-year-old sought by Ottawa police for more than two years.

Handule was believed to have been in Calgary since Dec. 24, according to police

Police confirmed Saturday that a man shot and killed on Boxing Day in Calgary was 23-year-old Farah Hersi Handule, accused in a 2017 Ottawa fatal shooting. (Submitted)

The 23-year-old victim of a fatal shooting that Calgary police described as "brazen" was a suspect in an Ottawa murder case.

On Boxing Day, Farah Hersi Handule was shot and killed in Calgary's Montgomery neighbourhood. 

Calgary police confirmed Saturday that Handule was the same individual Ottawa police have been seeking for more than two years.

Handule had previously been charged with second-degree murder in connection with a killing that took place in Ottawa in October 2017.

On Sept. 20, 2017, Hamzeh Serhan, 20, was shot in broad daylight in the courtyard of a Caldwell Avenue social housing complex in Ottawa's Carlington neighbourhood. 

At the time of the shooting, witnesses told CBC News they heard a burst of gunshots and people fleeing the scene. One witness saw a man conscious and bleeding on the ground.

After Ottawa police responded, Serhan underwent resuscitation but died on the way to hospital.

In October of 2017, Ottawa police issued a warrant for Handule's arrest in connection to Serhan's killing, warning residents that he may be armed and was considered dangerous.

Hamzeh Serhan was shot to death on Ottawa's Caldwell Avenue in broad daylight on Sept. 20, 2017. (Supplied)

Serhan's brother, Mouhamed Serhan, was also killed earlier this year.

Ottawa police said the two killings were unrelated, but believed at the time that Handule was hiding somewhere in the Greater Toronto Area.

Boxing Day shooting

Calgary police said Handule was believed to have been in Calgary since Dec. 24 and called the attack "targeted."

Police were called to the scene shortly before 9 p.m. Tuesday, and when they arrived they found a man dead at the scene. 

Police responded to a fatal shooting on Boxing Day at about 10 p.m. at Home Road and 16th Avenue N.W. (Hala Ghonaim/CBC)

Roads were closed until the early hours of the morning on Friday. 

Police obtained surveillance footage from local businesses to see if cameras captured the shooting, and an autopsy was scheduled for Friday.

Police said Saturday the investigation is ongoing, and that anyone with information about the shooting to call the non-emergency number at 403-266-1234.

With files from CBC Ottawa