The sister of an Ottawa murder victim says her family is in shock over the senseless death of her brother “he wouldn’t hurt a fly”.
Iman Yusuf says Jabeir Jemmie, 21, was a big brother to everyone, “I didn’t realize how many lives he has impacted until we all united.”
Jemmie was stabbed outside an Elgin Street nightclub early Saturday August 23, 2014. He died later in hospital.
While Jemmie was known to Ottawa Police, Yusuf wants the public to know her brother was not a gang member “unfortunately people see the clothing he wears and his natural beautiful long hair and think that he’s associated to some sort of gang. But not all big black guys are dangerous, especially not our Jabeir.”
Instead Yusuf says Jemmie was more of a protector, “he was a six-foot-four teddy bear that everyone felt safe with.”
Jemmie graduated Woodroffe High School and was tasked with taking care of his family. He was a proud Muslim and proud of his Eritrean roots.
The Ottawa Police Major Crime Unit is now heading up the investigation. They had released a photo of a man they called an “important witness” in the case, but have since identified and spoken with him, “they wanted to speak with him, he was a witness. “ says Ottawa Police Constable Chuck Benoit, “they needed to have knowledge of who he was before anything.”
But Benoit says the man is not a suspect in Jemmie’s murder. Investigators say no arrest has been made and they have yet to identify a person of interest in the case.
Benoit says this investigation is a challenging one for police “it does become mayhem, there is alcohol involved with many patrons of the bars and you’re looking at hours of the night when it is darker, to get a perfect statement from somebody is a bit harder.”
Anyone with information on the Jabeir Jemmie murder is asked to contact the Ottawa Police Major Crime Section at 613.236.1222 extension 5493 or Crime Stoppers at 613.233.8477 or toll-free 1.800.222.8477.
