Fifth Somali man shot in Edmonton

EDMONTON, Alberta, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- The Canadian prairie city of Edmonton, Alberta, has recorded its fifth shooting of a Somali man since August, police said.

The latest victim, an unidentified man in his 20s, was found Tuesday morning in a car stopped at an intersection with a bullet wound to the neck, the Edmonton Sun reported.

The man, reported in stable condition Wednesday, was the first of the Somali victims to survive the shootings. There were two separate shootings Aug. 24, a third a month later and a fourth on Oct. 31, the newspaper said.

Police said the latest victim recently moved to Edmonton from Ontario, and was known to the police gang unit. Some of the other victims also had been charged with gang- and drug-related charges, police said.

However, Mahamad Accord, executive director of the Alberta Somali Canadian Center, disputed the police claims.

"We never had one shred of evidence that show that these killings are related to drugs or the gangs," Accord told the Sun. "They are disseminating misinformation."

The group was scheduled to meet with Police Chief Mike Boyd to discuss the investigation, the report said.