Charges stayed against teen brothers in Marlborough Park shooting that left one dead, two injured

The Crown has stayed charges against two teenage brothers in a Calgary shooting that left one man dead and two others injured last week.

A 14-year-old boy, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, had been charged with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.

His 18-year-old brother had been charged with accessory to murder after the fact.

A spokeswoman for the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service says the case was reassessed after additional information came to light.

Police had charged the two brothers after a Nov. 13 shooting in the parking lot of mall in northeastern Calgary and found 23-year-old Rami Hajj Ali dead and two others injured.

Investigators said at the time that the attack was targeted and connected to an ongoing organized crime conflict in Calgary.

Calgary Police Chief Mark Neufeld said Tuesday he learned about the dropping of charges as he was driving to City Hall to answer questions about the police budget during the city’s deliberations.

“As you can imagine, I’m super interested in finding out what happened and how it came to be that we charged a couple of young people who now seem not to be responsible for the offence,” he told reporters outside City Hall over the noon hour.

“The fact of the matter remains, we should never be arresting somebody or charging somebody for serious crimes that aren’t responsible for them,” Neufeld added. “I do understand that it was in investigations that continued post-arrest that actually revealed evidence to the contrary and so investigators very quickly wanted to get that evidence to the Crown so that they could have that and we could quickly make changes and reverse course.”

The chief said the force will likely issue it’s own statement on the matter sometime Tuesday.

In a statement to CityNews, the lawyer for the 18-year-old brother says he has maintained his and his brother’s innocence since the moment he was arrested.

“He is grateful to the Calgary Prosecutor for staying his charge and looks forward to understanding how this could have happened,” lawyer Andi Urquhart said in an email statement.

“While the Crown has not commented publicly on why they made their decision it would seem that the video circulating on social media depicting the shooting would have been a factor,” she explained. “The video clearly depicts an individual who is not either of the two brothers who were charged.”

Urquhart added that her client “looks forward to getting back to being an 18-year-old and continuing to work in the community.”