A deadly shooting at a family-owned restaurant in Mississauga three years ago was carried out by three men who pledged allegiance to ISIS and were looking to silence a man who threatened to go to police about their actions, Crown prosecutors allege.
The shooting at Chicken Land, on Glen Erin Drive and the Collegeway in Mississauga, on May 29, 2021, left Naim Akl, 25, dead. Akl’s mother, father and brother, as well as a family friend were also shot.
Crown prosecutor David D’Iorio told jurors the three men planned to kill Akl and tried to wipe out his family because he planned to go to the police about their activities. D’Iorio made his opening statement last Tuesday when the trial began at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Brampton.
The three accused include alleged gunman Anand Nath of Mississauga, who was 20 at the time of the shooting; Naqash Abbasi of Brampton, who was 31 at the time; and alleged getaway driver Suliman Raza of Mississauga, who was 25. All three are facing one count of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder.
All three have pleaded not guilty.
Court has heard the men operated a business named TryALinc, buying and selling Amazon products out of a Mississauga warehouse. D’Iorio alleged the money they made from the business was being sent “back home” to fund ISIS.
The Akl family are part of the Druze religious sect and had been running Chicken Land for nearly 30 years. D’Iorio told court Naim was interested in Islam and befriended the accused because they were devout followers of the Islamic faith. Court heard Akl, who had converted to Islam without his parents knowing, had joined the business.
On Monday, jurors also heard from Peel police Const. Arun Adhya who presented material he says was found in Raza’s phone when he was arrested on June 9, 2021.
Jury has seen a video of a Honda Accord speeding away, after the gunman jumped into the trunk of the car after the shooting. The Crown says the car belonged to Raza’s father.
Text messages indicate there was a falling out of the group after mid April, with Naim being removed from a group chat, court heard. D’Iorio told court Akl left the business and went back to work at his family’s restaurant.
Adhya testified the phone contained pictures of the alleged getaway vehicle, screenshots of news articles about the shooting, downloads of Islamic State propaganda videos. He said three days before the shooting, the phone was also used to search the internet with the prompt: “What are the sentences for a getaway driver.”
Raza’s phone contained a seven-minute video of ISIS propaganda that encourages “Mujahdin” (holy warriors) around the world to join their cause and states that it is “obligatory” to fight the “kafir,” (infidels) according to the agreed statement of facts obtained by CBC News.
He searched “how many bullets does a glock 43 hold” and “glock 43 VS 43X [a different type of glock],” per the agreed statement of facts.
On Monday, court heard from Naim’s sister, Sandra Akl, who was 13 at the time of the shooting. Sandra, who was not hurt in the incident, testified by video about the terror of watching her family shot.
Now 16, Sandra said she was finishing her homework when shots rang out, and she hid behind a fridge in the kitchen at the back of the restaurant.
When it was over, she came out from behind the fridge to find her mother shot in the arm and the rest of her family on the floor covered in blood, she said.
“Someone came in and started shooting everywhere.… I just waited it out until it was all over,” Sandra said, adding she was “panicking.”
A total of seven bullets were fired and the attack lasted 18 seconds, the Crown told jurors.
As part of her cross-examination, Nath’s lawyer, Susan Pennypacker, questioned Sandra about the shooter’s skin colour.
Akl repeated what she told police, that even though she couldn’t see the shooter’s entire face, the man was white. Nath, the accused gunman, has brown skin.
Court also heard from a witness who said he saw the gunman running from the scene. Jerome Marleau testified he went out to buy cigarettes from the same plaza where the shooting took place that evening and saw the alleged shooter on his way back home.
“He was running pretty fast,” said Marleau.
WATCH | Video shows suspect in Mississauga shooting:
Marleau described the shooter as six feet tall with a slim build, fully clothed and dark skinned.
The trial is ongoing.