MANDEL: An outpouring of pain for beloved family man killed in senseless bar shooting
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Craig MacDonald was a loving son, father and grandfather; a kind and generous soul who loved dancing with his daughters, fishing with his sons, and always, watching his beloved Maple Leafs.
He was wearing his hockey sweater when he was killed and wore another when he was laid to rest.
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In a downtown courtroom Wednesday, an astounding 35 victim impact statements were submitted to Superior Court Justice Michael Brown, an outpouring of pain and heartache detailing the tremendous loss so many have suffered by MacDonald’s senseless slaying at the hands of Abilaziz Mohamed.
Originally charged with second-degree murder, Mohamed, 35, was convicted of manslaughter earlier this year in the October 2021 shooting of MacDonald, 43, the manager of security and maintenance at Providence Health. Both men had been at a Boston Pizza in Scarborough when a bar fight ended with Mohamed firing twice at MacDonald with his .32-calibre semi-automatic handgun.
Mohamed, who was naturally under a weapons prohibition at the time, fled and was at the top of Canada’s most-wanted list before his arrest in April 2022. Charged with second-degree murder, his plea to manslaughter was rejected by the Crown but at the end of the trial, the judge found prosecutors hadn’t proven beyond a reasonable doubt that he intended to kill MacDonald when he opened fire.
Court heard the victim, who had consumed seven to nine beers that night, recognized Mohamed from an altercation at another bar a month earlier, grabbed him from behind and began punching him and rushed at him in the parking lot 10 minutes later when he was shot.
Drema MacDonald described the 1,392 days of absolute hell she has lived since that tragic night and lamented that at the judge-alone trial, her brother was reduced to being cast as drunk guy who started the “shortest, lamest bar fight in history.” But that wasn’t the Craig everyone knew, she said. He was the hero who came to the aid of a friend being threatened with a knife, the “larger than life” guy always there to help without a moment’s hesitation and the 25-year employee known at Providence as the “ambassador of kindness.”
Most of all, MacDonald was a dedicated father of five, with his youngest just eight-years-old when his dad was killed.
“My nephew’s memories of Craig are being erased and it breaks my heart,” said MacDonald’s sister. “A few months ago he told me that when he thinks of his dad, all he can picture is his death — Craig in a coffin being lowered into the ground. We share story after story with him, but what he remembers is the violence.”
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Amber MacDonald found out she was pregnant three days before her father was killed. “We do not seek vengeance, we seek justice,” she told the judge. “Justice will not bring him back but it can honour the life he lived and the love he gave.”
His ex-wife, Tracy MacDonald, addressed Abilaziz directly to tell him how her children will always mourn all the milestones they will miss. “Craig’s life wasn’t all you took from me, you took part of my children also, as I spoke the worst words a parent should ever have to speak: ‘Your daddy was shot and killed.'”
Their son Colin, 24, directed a remarkably kind and eloquent message to his father’s killer that offered a glimpse into how well he was raised by his dad.
“I’m not writing this to tell you that you’re a bad guy or a good guy, sometimes even good people make bad decisions,” he said.
He told him that he doesn’t think he’ll ever forgive him — but he does want to believe in the justice system and so he asked for a favour.
“The favour I’m asking of you, Abilaziz, is please don’t make my father’s life meaningless. No matter what has happened in the past, every day is a new opportunity to become the person you were always meant to be.
“The walls around you may be made of concrete, but growth starts in the mind and heart, and no prison can confine that. Change is possible.”
How long he should remain behind those concrete walls will be argued when his sentencing hearing continues Thursday.
mmandel@postmedia.com
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