Funeral for 16-year-old Nabil Askafe, who was shot at Jackson Square, underway in Hamilton
Posted on: Apr 27, 2026 23:02 IST | Posted by: Cbc
The obsequy for a 16-year-old william rowan william rowan hamilton boy killed o'er the weekend is getting underway at Hamilton mount Mosque.
Nabil Askafe, who had recently immigrated from Syria with his parents and little brother, was shot and killed at Jackson Square Mall Friday, Hamilton police said.
An email from the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board to parents Sunday said Askafe had been a Westdale Secondary School student.
Mechmechia is a mental health and trauma counsellor, who works in and around Hamilton. She said she's known Askafe's family for about eight years through both through the Syrian community and because his family members have volunteered with her programming.
"It's definitely such a traumatic experience [the family is] going through," she added.
In addition to the teen's family, "the entire community is shaking," Mechmechia said. "They're not able to understand why such a [tragedy] could happen in the middle of the day in downtown Hamilton."
Police have said Askafe and the teen who alleged killed him got into a physical altercation "just inside" the mall at King Street W. Near a Himalayan restaurant. The 14-year-old brandished a gun, police said, and shot Askafe.
Young people in the Syrian community are "questioning their own safety," Mechmechia said.
She said Askafe's death is "too tragic" and highlights the responsibility all of Hamilton has to keep young people safe.
When dealing with a loss like this, Mechmechia said, newcomers face additional challenges, including being displaced from extended family and language barriers plus a lack of familiarity when dealing with police.
"We're hoping to ensure that this is not only family loss, it's a loss that the whole community is carrying and we all are feeling the weight of," Mechmechia said. "And we're hoping that this never ever happens again."
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