Post by Sher on May 15, 2005 15:12:54 GMT -5
A Toronto police detective personalized a plea to a man believed to be on the run with his two-year-old son -- an act that has triggered an amber alert.
"What's important right now is his son," Det. Steve Ryan told reporters Saturday.
"What's done is done ... but as a dad I'd make a plea to him to do the right thing and bring his boy to a place of safety."
In a statement released Saturday, police said they are looking for Sammy Kassim, who is described as black, 40 pounds, 3-feet tall, with brown eyes and black curly hair.
The boy is believed to be in the company of a 30-year-old man, who is described as six-foot-two, 220 pounds, with a shaved head. He is missing his right thumb and was last seen wearing a white sweater with a red pattern on it.
Police said Amin Kassim is wanted for questioning following an early-morning homicide of a 23-year-old woman.
The woman -- believed to be the boy's mother -- was found shot and killed in a downtown Toronto apartment.
Ryan said the woman had obvious signs of trauma to her body.
Later Saturday morning, a taxi driver reported he had been shot at by a man travelling with a boy, police said in the statement.
Taxi company officials said the man was resting at home.
The news of the killing shattered the dead woman's family.
Salhiya Sammy, who identified herself as the dead woman's cousin, sobbed as she said: "She's very nice and she don't deserve this. I don't know how people kill this kind of person."
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Toronto police at 416-808-7000 or Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS.
An Amber Alert is issued in cases of suspected child abduction during the first five hours after a child is reported missing. This happened at 11:23 a.m. EDT.
But in an unusual development, police extended the alert until midnight Saturday.
Ryan said police are been pleased with the help they've received from the public.
"The public's very interested. Anytime you not only have a homicide and a two-year-old son that's been taken from his home and his mother, there's lots of interest," he said.
Tips have come in from Barrie, about 90 kilometres north of Toronto, to Hamilton, about 55 kilometres southwest.
The Amber Alert system is used across North America when police suspect a child has been abducted and their life is in danger.
The alert quickly disseminates information to highway billboards, broadcasters and newspapers.
The system is named after nine-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was abducted and murdered in Texas in 1996.
"What's important right now is his son," Det. Steve Ryan told reporters Saturday.
"What's done is done ... but as a dad I'd make a plea to him to do the right thing and bring his boy to a place of safety."
In a statement released Saturday, police said they are looking for Sammy Kassim, who is described as black, 40 pounds, 3-feet tall, with brown eyes and black curly hair.
The boy is believed to be in the company of a 30-year-old man, who is described as six-foot-two, 220 pounds, with a shaved head. He is missing his right thumb and was last seen wearing a white sweater with a red pattern on it.
Police said Amin Kassim is wanted for questioning following an early-morning homicide of a 23-year-old woman.
The woman -- believed to be the boy's mother -- was found shot and killed in a downtown Toronto apartment.
Ryan said the woman had obvious signs of trauma to her body.
Later Saturday morning, a taxi driver reported he had been shot at by a man travelling with a boy, police said in the statement.
Taxi company officials said the man was resting at home.
The news of the killing shattered the dead woman's family.
Salhiya Sammy, who identified herself as the dead woman's cousin, sobbed as she said: "She's very nice and she don't deserve this. I don't know how people kill this kind of person."
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Toronto police at 416-808-7000 or Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS.
An Amber Alert is issued in cases of suspected child abduction during the first five hours after a child is reported missing. This happened at 11:23 a.m. EDT.
But in an unusual development, police extended the alert until midnight Saturday.
Ryan said police are been pleased with the help they've received from the public.
"The public's very interested. Anytime you not only have a homicide and a two-year-old son that's been taken from his home and his mother, there's lots of interest," he said.
Tips have come in from Barrie, about 90 kilometres north of Toronto, to Hamilton, about 55 kilometres southwest.
The Amber Alert system is used across North America when police suspect a child has been abducted and their life is in danger.
The alert quickly disseminates information to highway billboards, broadcasters and newspapers.
The system is named after nine-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was abducted and murdered in Texas in 1996.