5 Charged, 16‑Year‑Old Sought in Deadly Vaughan Home Invasion

A York Regional Police patch is shown in Aurora, Ont., on Dec. 19, 2022. The Canadian Press/Arlyn McAdorey

Six people have been charged, including one teenager who is wanted, in connection with an August home invasion near Toronto that left a father of four dead.

Mississauga resident Amir Wiam Mohammad Abuhmaid, 26, is charged with first-degree murder in the Aug. 31 shooting death of 46-year-old Aleem Farooqi, York Regional Police said in a Nov. 12 press release. Farooqi was killed while trying to protect his family during a home invasion in Vaughan, Ont.

Police have issued an arrest warrant for 16-year-old who is also wanted for first-degree murder in connection with Farooqi’s death. The Youth Criminal Justice Act prevents the names of minors from being published.

The teen was last seen in the Greater Toronto Area, and police are appealing to him, or anyone harbouring him, to come forward.

“We will find you,” Insp. Paolo Fiore from the York Regional Police homicide unit said during a Nov. 12 press conference. “It’s time to contact a lawyer and turn yourself in.”

Two adults and two teenagers have also been arrested. Police allege one of the adults and the two teens were in the stolen vehicle that was used to flee the scene of the home invasion.

Farooqi was killed during the early morning hours of Aug. 31 after three suspects broke into his home in the area of Andreeta Drive and Barons Street. Fiore said the suspects entered through the rear entrance of the home, one of them carrying a firearm. When Farooqi confronted them, he was shot.

The suspects fled the scene in a Honda CRV that had been stolen in Toronto several days prior, Fiore said.

Officers arrived on the scene at approximately 1 a.m., according to the press release. Farooqi was pronounced dead at the scene, despite lifesaving efforts.

Police described the home invasion as “targeted” early on in the investigation, but Fiore noted in a Sept. 3 press conference that Farooqi was not “in any way involved in criminal activities.” He said the crime was perpetrated for “monetary gain only.”

Charges

A total of 13 charges have been laid against six individuals so far, but police said the investigation is still ongoing and suspects are “still outstanding.” Police did not say how many more suspects might be linked to the home invasion.

Aside from first-degree murder, 26-year-old Abuhmaid has been charged with robbery with a firearm, break and enter with intent, possession of property obtained by a crime over $5,000, and breach of probation.

The 16-year-old who remains at large faces identical charges except for breach of probation.

Twenty-five-year-old Choszen Roshan Phillip of Toronto and two unnamed 16-year-olds have each been charged with possession of property obtained by a crime over $5,000 in connection with the incident, while Jahvon St. Patrick McNairn, 34, of Toronto has been charged with accessory after the fact of robbery with a firearm.

Call for Reform

Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca thanked the police for finding and charging some of the individuals involved in the Labour Day weekend shooting, a crime he described as a “senseless act” that “shattered a family and shook our entire community.”

But he also used the police announcement as a chance to decry the current justice system.

“Too many repeat offenders are out on bail because of our current ‘catch and release’ system—a broken approach that allows dangerous individuals to reoffend,” the mayor said in a Nov. 12 social media post. “Too many criminals commit crimes with little or no consequence. This must change—urgently.”

He called recent legislation before the House of Commons “an important first step” in keeping criminals off the street.

Bill C-14, the Bail and Sentencing Reform Act, was introduced by Justice Minister Sean Fraser last month. He told reporters during an Oct. 23 press conference that the legislation creates new reverse onuses for major crimes such as auto theft, breaking and entering, human smuggling, and sexual assault. The measure will force the accused to prove why they deserve to be released from detention, rather than prosecutors needing to prove they should be detained. The bill also includes amendments that would toughen sentencing laws for repeat and violent crimes.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said during an Oct. 23 press conference that the Liberals should take the legislation a step further by getting rid of the principle of restraint, which requires judges to “release the arrested individual at the earliest opportunity under the least onerous conditions.”

The Tories have attributed the rise in violent crime, in part, to the Liberals’ Bill C-75, which became law in 2019. This legislation instructed judges to prioritize the swift release of the accused under the least restrictive conditions when making bail decisions. The party has also expressed its disapproval of Bill C-5, which eliminated mandatory minimum sentences for certain serious offenses when the legislation became law in 2022.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has been critical of the same laws and has urged Ottawa to reform the justice system.

He repeated that call after Farooqi’s death.

“Every single day, innocent people are getting their doors kicked in by a bunch of thugs, a bunch of murderers, criminals and you go to root cause, it is the weak criminal code that needs to be changed by the federal government,” Ford told reporters at a Sept. 2 press conference. “We are sick and tired of these thugs getting out on bail.”