A criminal investigation has been launched into the emergency medical care a Good Samaritan received after being shot while aiding a senior being accosted.
Yosif Al-Hasnawi, 19, a Brock University student, had just left a Hamilton mosque on Dec. 2 when he came to the defence of an older man being assaulted by two men.
Al-Hasnawi — who has been called a hero, brave and kind — was shot and later died.
Witness accounts at the scene allege paramedics didn’t take Al-Hasnawi’s injuries seriously and delayed transport to hospital.
Hamilton Police officers investigate following the murder of Good Samaritan Yosif Al-Hasnawi.
Tom Raczynski, who lives in the area, said he heard screams that drew him out of his home that night.
“He was lying there complaining he was hurting and they kept saying he was faking,” Raczynski said of paramedics and police at the scene.
“The one paramedic kept saying ’oh you’re a good actor,”’ Raczynski said. “I just thought it was disgusting. Like somebody’s shot, you take him in to the hospital, you don’t leave him lying there.”
Dale Burningsky King is charged in the murder of 19-year-old Yosif Al-Hasnawi in Hamilton on Dec. 2, 2017.
Dale Burningsky King, 21, of Hagersville, and James Matheson, 21, of Hamilton, have been charged in connection with the murder.
During a memorial, Al-Hasnawi’s mother, Amal Alzurufi, said she wanted justice for her son. She wondered if he would be alive if a different emergency care had been given and she called for an investigation.
On Wednesday, the Hamilton Police Service issued a press release saying it had requested the help of Niagara Regional Police to conduct a criminal investigation into the emergency medical care Al-Hasnawi received at the scene.
“Niagara Regional Police Service has agreed to conduct a criminal investigation in order to ensure a fair and impartial investigation is completed,” Jerome Stewart, Hamilton police media relations officer, said in a statement.
He didn’t comment on how long the investigation would take and said that as the matter is ongoing, no further comment would be made until the conclusion.
Media reports say that Al-Hasnawi’s father brought his body to Iraq, where he was buried Monday in a revered site as a martyr.
— With files from Canadian Press