Police urge witnesses to speak out over August murder in YK

RCMP say they need witnesses to a murder in Yellowknife half a year ago to start talking as officers try to identify the people responsible.

In a news release on Tuesday, police provided new information about what was originally termed a “suspicious death” in Yellowknife on August 20, 2022.

Now expressly referring to the incident as a murder, police said on Tuesday that Feysal Farah, 36, had been “fatally wounded by gunfire” at around 2am that day at an apartment building on Con Road.

“Since that time, investigators have been working to identify the person or persons responsible for the murder,” RCMP stated.

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“The major crime unit has recently received new information about this homicide and are actively working to follow up on the new leads. Police have confirmed that there were several people present at the time of the murder. These people have not been forthcoming with investigators.”

Cst Alexander Fanning, who works in the major crime unit, was quoted as saying: “It is clear that there are a number of people who witnessed the murder and who have information that can assist this investigation.

“We aren’t asking for new information from the public at this time, but we are appealing to witnesses – who were present and have information – to contact us.

“This family needs answers about what happened to their loved one. We are going to investigate this matter to the fullest extent to try and bring some sense of closure to them. If you were there and have information that can help provide answers, do the right thing, and call the police.”

Police said the gun used to kill Farah is part of “a concerning trend” in which handgun seizures across the territory have risen from two in 2019 to seven in 2020, nine in 2021 and 25 in 2022.

“Gun violence has no place in the North,” said Insp Dean Riou in the same news release.

“Illegally possessed firearms in the hands of criminals present a real and serious danger to the public. The RCMP is committed to getting these weapons, and the people that would use them for violence or to instil fear in our communities, off our streets.

“The people who are bringing these weapons to our communities need to understand that we will use every available resource to identify them and bring them before the courts.”