In a dramatic flight from justice, a trail of abandoned clothing became the crucial evidence that helped convict one of Edmonton's most notorious mass shooters.
The Night of Violence
On March 12, 2022, four gunmen unleashed terror at the Ertale Lounge nightclub in Edmonton, firing 66 rounds at patrons in one of the city's few mass shootings. The attack left 28-year-old Imbert George dead and seven others injured, some with life-altering wounds.
Surveillance footage showed two pairs of men emerging from a red Ford Focus moments before the shooting. Two approached the north side of 118 Avenue wearing balaclavas and armed with handguns equipped with extended clips.
The Escape and Evidence
As police sirens wailed and a helicopter buzzed overhead, Samatar Mohiadin made his desperate escape. The 28-year-old opened the rear passenger door of the Ford Focus and sprinted into the night, hopping fences into suburban backyards.
In a critical moment captured by investigation, Mohiadin crawled underneath a deck and began discarding his clothing. He removed one pair of pants and yanked off his distinctive tan boots, emerging minutes later in his socks before disappearing across a nearby field.
The clothing he left behind—including the tan boots and a shiny black jacket—would later become instrumental in linking him to the crime.
Justice Served Years Later
Although Mohiadin initially evaded capture, the evidence trail he left behind ultimately proved decisive. In a ruling delivered October 31, Court of King's Bench Justice Eric Macklin concluded he had no doubt Mohiadin was one of the shooters.
"There are no other reasonable or plausible alternative inferences," Justice Macklin wrote in his decision. "There is no evidence inconsistent with this conclusion."
The shooting victims suffered devastating injuries including broken bones, organ damage, and permanent physical impairment. One victim lost a kidney, another suffered five gunshot wounds that broke his femur and pierced his bowel, colon and spleen.
Even bystanders weren't spared—the doorman was shot in the knee, while a woman across the street caught a stray bullet. The court decision didn't discuss potential motives for the unprecedented violence that shocked the Edmonton community.
