‘It happened so suddenly’: Nano Ali killed trying to save father from abduction

Welcome to Canada, goodbye to Canada."

Those are the words etched into Fauzia Ali's memory, uttered by the gunman who killed one of her two sons after men broke down their door while they slept. They forced her husband, Faqir, who was wearing just pyjama bottoms, out of their Glancaster Road home in the middle of the night and into an SUV.

The home invasion lasted just minutes, but left her 21-year-old son Hasnain, known as Nano, dead. Her other son, Sibtain, was shot and remains in hospital. Her husband, Faqir, was dragged away, beaten and then dumped near Jimmy Lomax Park off Beach Boulevard, where police found him badly wounded six hours after being kidnapped.

Fauzia and her daughters are surrounded by family as she tries to comprehend the horror of what has happened to her family. She trembles and friends hold her as she walks.

It's devastating," she whispers.

I don't know, it happened so suddenly (everyone) was sleeping ... I don't know, something happened bad to my family, they don't deserve this."

All she knows is that her sons and husband were trying to save each other, as her husband was being dragged away. Her family has never had any problems with anyone, she says.

Welcome to Canada, goodbye to Canada," Fauzia repeats this over and over.

Faqir remains in hospital in a coma, she says. Her other son was in surgery.

Hamilton police said Friday both were considered in stable condition.

Police say the violent incident was targeted. But why Faqir was targeted, they don't yet know.

Perpetrators who commit home invasions are usually looking for something. Were they looking for money?

That's one of the possibilities Det. Sgt. Steve Bereziuk said Hamilton detectives are looking into. But the motive remains unclear.

Court and property records show Faqir owed a Brampton man about $12,000 after a small-claims court decision; the family also owed more than $21,000 in property taxes to the city.

But family and friends say they have no idea why this happened and they were not aware of Faqir borrowing money from anyone.

If they wanted money, they would have given the perpetrators everything, Fauzia cries.

Police have recovered two SUVs used in the abduction. The two suspects are described as Black men. One was six-foot to six-foot-one, with a thin or skinny build and dark skin, wearing dark pants and a dark top. The second was wearing a grey tracksuit and a wrap - described as a do-rag" - on his head.

Friends say the family has always been kind, respectful and eager to help. The brothers were always together and the family, which also includes two daughters, are very close. The older daughter was away at university and not home at the time of the home invasion.

Waqas Gondal, a friend of Faqir's, says he helped him when he first came to Canada many years ago and was being discriminated against in high school. Faqir, who at that time was president of the Pakistan Canada Association of Hamilton, spoke to the school principal.

Nano was a graduate of Ancaster High School and attended Laurier University's Brantford campus. He loved cars, worked at Lime Ridge Mall and wanted to be a lawyer.

Faqir is a Pakistani-Canadian businessperson, from a prominent Pakistani family. His personal website shows photos alongside notable figures, including Canadian politicians. Ali is CEO of Al Nihangs Group, described online as helping to bridge the gap between foreign investors."

Gondal said he saw the family several times in the week before the home invasion, they came to his Oakville restaurant. Everything seemed normal; there was no indication Faqir was worried about anything.

He called on anyone who has any information as to what happened to come forward, to help the family heal.

Nicole O'Reilly is a Hamilton-based reporter covering crime and justice for The Spectator. Reach her via email: noreilly@thespec.com