MISSISSAUGA – A trio of 17-year-old sex trade workers are being hunted for the second-degree murder of a South Asian man who stumbled soaked in blood in to a Stoney Creek gas station.
Det. Sgt. Dave Oleniuk said one of the girls is from Hamilton, the other two are from the Toronto area.
It’s alleged they drove with Hayder Qasim-Rushdi, 33, from Mississauga, where he lives, to Stoney Creek, where he was fatally stabbed in the neck with a knife.
“They were involved as escorts,” Oleniuk said.
Qasim-Rushdi was not previously known to police and had no connection to Hamilton, he said. He was not the girls “pimp” and it’s unclear if the girls had interactions with him before that night.
The detective said there was blood found in Qasim-Rushdi’s car, which may have been where the stabbing took place. The car was registered to a family member.
“Blood pattern analysis of the car is still ongoing,” Oleniuk said.
He previously told The Spectator the victim was stabbed “not too far” from the Pioneer gas station on Upper Centennial Parkway. Qasim-Rushdi drove himself there at 2:30 a.m. Friday.
Police have the knife that’s believed to be the murder weapon. A search warrant was executed Tuesday afternoon at a home on the east Mountain.
The girls cannot be named because their identities are protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
They were last seen getting into a cab, said a police source.
Oleniuk said detectives have no reason to believe any of the girls were injured during their time with Qasim-Rushdi. Police have reached out to families in London, Ont. and the GTA to find them.
“They are engaged in a high-risk lifestyle. Their safety is also a concern,” he said.
Qasim-Rushdi drove alone to the gas station and, soaked in blood, walked inside and collapsed in front of a male employee and a customer.
Initially, police did not know his identity, but at some point police “were able to talk to him briefly,” Oleniuk said. When he took a turn for the worse on Saturday night, the homicide unit took over the investigation and he died Sunday afternoon.
Qasim-Rushdi was single and had no children. It took some time to inform his family of his death, as they’re scattered across the country and around the world.
Oleniuk said there is no connection between the case and other criminal activity in the area, specifically a rumoured connection to shootings at a Green Mountain Road home.
Anyone with information regarding the homicide is asked to called Det. Ross Johnson at 905-526-3827 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
