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Hassan Mohammed Yussuf
Edmonton, AB / April 8, 2005
At 1 a.m. on the morning of Friday, April 8, 2005 cab driver Hassan Yussuf was hailed by two men and two woman outside a Mac's convenience store at 107th Avenue and 104th Street. The fares directed him to an address in a remote area of northeast Edmonton near Horse Hill School.
One of the men asked Yussuf to stop because he was sick. When the car stopped the man dragged Yussuf from the car and began stabbing him. One of the women joined the attack as Yussuf fought back, pleading for his life. The two men then put Yussuf into the trunk of the car.
The second woman drove the car to a parking lot in Castle Downs near 153rd Avenue and 113-A Street and left it parked at an angle between a liquor store and a church. The car remained there for five days. The killers had disabled the car's GPS tracking system.
On the evening of Tuesday, April 12, police received a tip about the car. Police discovered Yussuf's body about 11 p.m. A 25-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday and a man and a woman aged 27 and 23 turned themselves in late Thursday. All three were charged with murder. The second woman, who witnessed the attack, was given police protection.
Yussuf, 41, came to Canada from Somalia in 1992. He held two science degrees and spoke five languages. He was a cab driver in Ottawa but could not get enough hours to support his seven children. He had been in Edmonton less than a year and planned to move his family here in June.
One of several emails sent to the Edmonton Journal's web site included this comment:
"I was one of Yussuf's customers. Over our many conversations whilst traveling about, he shared with me his great love for family, his faith and for Canada. He was so thankful to be in this country. He was such a peaceful, gentle, and intelligent man. He often spoke of his children and wife, with such tenderness. He came to this country with all the hope and promise of finding a peaceful life. That he met with such a horrific ending, does not lessen the impact he made on the many lives he had touched."
On Thursday 150 taxis slowly circled Edmonton's city hall to draw attention to safety issues. Edmonton Yellow cab came under criticism for not instituting a search for Yussuf's cab when his roommate called them Friday and Saturday to report him missing.
Yussuf's funeral was held on Friday, April 16 at Edmonton's Al-Rashid mosque. About 3,000 people attended, including Yussuf's wife, children and other family members. A procession of cabs followed the hearse to the cemetery.
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