The families of Afef Benefif and AbdulMalik Shibli are still grappling with the deaths of the two teenagers who were fatally shot in a Stoney Creek neighbourhood in July.
While a 15-year-old has been charged in connection with the deaths, the families still have questions about the shooting that they say changed their lives forever.
“A lot of questions, a lot of questions” Wael Shibli, AbdulMalik’s father, tells OMNI News. “They have all the phones – for the offender, for Afef, for my son …but I have no information about the investigation. Nothing, zero.”
Some of the events leading up to the deadly shooting on July 29th are still unknown, but what we do know is that hours before, there was a home invasion at Afef’s home, allegedly involving bear spray, where his parents were allegedly assaulted.
“Afef came back with Abdul to the house where they found his father, mother, siblings, little children, outside with ambulance and 10 police cars,” explained Wael. “He was shocked.”
The family’s neighbour, Ashley, says she was home at the time.
“So once I took action to help the family, I brought them into my unit and started trying to flush water,” she said. “I told [Afef], if there’s anything that you know, please tell the cops. If there’s anything that you share with them, just tell them. Don’t try to see this person yourself, and be safe.”
“He was very upset for his family, he felt very responsible because he’s supposed to be there for his family, and he wasn’t there. And I think that that was his main concern.”
Hamilton police say they are investigating a possible connection between that incident and what happened hours later, when AbdulMalik and Afef were fatally shot. A 15-year-old, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, is facing two counts of second-degree murder and four counts of attempted murder with a firearm.
The arrest has AbulMalik’s family calling for change to the criminal justice system when young offenders are involved. Wael Shibli says he wants to see young criminals charged “because of the crime they did, not because of the age.”
“Youth should be considered by the justice system but it should never become a license to commit horrific crimes without meaningful consequences,” he said. “Justice should stand with victims and their families. The purpose of the justice system must be to protect the innocent and hold killers accountable, not to become a shield that protects offenders from the consequences of their crimes.”
Currently, the maximum sentence a youth can face for first degree murder in Canada is 10 years with four of them spent under community supervision.
Along with the 15-year-old, a 34-year-old woman has also been charged with being an accessory after the fact.
Kalie Stephan contributed to this report
