Hundreds mourn 16-year-old Halifax homicide victim: The youth are feeling it [Video]

Hundreds of people gathered Wednesday at a Halifax-area mosque to mourn 16-year-old Ahmad Maher Al Marrach, who was killed outside the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.

Members of the city’s Muslim community were united in grief, showing their support for Al Marrach’s family during the somber service at the Kearney Lake Mosque Wednesday afternoon.

“Obviously, it’s a tragic incident,” said imam Hamzah Mangera following the service. “The youth are feeling it, because many of the youth were friends of the deceased.”

Al Marrach and his family were Syrian refugees who were making a life for themselves in Canada. While the teen had struggled to settle in, he “was on a path of change” at the time of his death, Mangera said.

Suzie Assal, who attended the service, said she knew Al Marrach through her work at his former school, Joseph Howe Elementary.

“In the morning, we teach them something, we laugh, we joke, we go outside for recess,” …