A ‘bad feeling’: Murder trial hears from friend who drove victim to scene of deadly parking lot ambush
When Mohammed Siddiqui heard his friends were meeting with some teens in Hamilton to settle a dispute after midnight July 19, 2020, he had a bad feeling."
He didn't know much about the fight, just that a couple of 17-year-olds were talking smack" to his friend Hamza Chaudry, who wanted to meet with the kids to talk out the problem, Siddiqui testified in court Thursday. He decided to drive his white BMW to Hamilton for moral support."
I insisted on coming down," he said. I had a bad feeling something could go wrong."
His instincts" proved right. The meeting in a Limeridge Road West parking lot turned into an ambush that would end with his friend (and Chaudry's younger brother) Ali Mohummad stabbed to death. For hours, Siddiqui and his friends didn't know what had happened to Mohummad, who disappeared during the parking lot melee. His body was later found by police down a hill near the scene.
Hours later and now aware of the 19-year-old's death, the friends would see a cellphone video of the incident widely shared on Twitter. Siddiqui said he fainted after seeing video of Mohummad running for his life."
Siddiqui, now 20, said it wasn't until the next day that he saw the rest of the video that also included his own white BMW hitting two 17-year-olds. Those teens are now on trial for second-degree murder. They cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
They are not alleged to have inflicted the fatal stab wounds, but are accused of organizing an ambush. Another 17-year-old charged with second-degree murder in May 2021 is being tried separately.
In court Thursday, Siddiqui agreed it was his car that hit the teens, but said he wasn't driving.
A number of facts are not disputed in the case. This includes that it is Mohummad seen running in the video before his death, said assistant Crown Alannah Grady, reading from an agreed statement of facts. Also agreed is that the two teens on trial were at the scene at 310 Limeridge Rd. W. that night.
Siddiqui testified that he was at his family home in Milton on July 18 for an event for his sister's wedding. Around midnight July 19, he drove to Mississauga to drop off his girlfriend and he called Chaudry to see about meeting up. Soon after, he made the decision to join the group assembling in Hamilton.
He believes he was the last person to arrive at a school parking lot. Soon after he arrived, the friends drove to the meeting place on Limeridge - an empty plaza parking lot, east of Garth Street - in at least five cars.
Mohummad sat in the front passenger seat of Siddiqui's BMW, which followed behind Chaudry's blue Mustang. Like other witnesses, Siddiqui described a group of 20 to 30 armed young men charging them the moment they pulled into the parking lot.
Siddiqui said he got out of his car when he believed he saw Chaudry being stabbed. He said he left his car running. He said he was jumped" by several guys who kicked and punched him outside his car.
He never saw anyone get in or out of his car, but said he saw out of the corner of my eye" someone being hit with his car. Soon after, everyone ran and he jumped back in his car - the door had been left open - and fled.
On cross-examination, defence attorney Jaimi Stephenson repeatedly suggested Siddiqui never got out of his car, that he said someone else took his car because he knew the impact had been captured on video. Siddiqui denied this.
Defence attorneys also pressed him about how much he spoke about the case with friends and whether what others had told him influenced his testimony.
Siddiqui said that he has never spoken with his friends about evidence because police told them not to. The only discussions were with police in the immediate aftermath of the ambush when they were frantically looking for Mohummad, he said.
After initially driving away from the parking lot for his safety that night, Siddiqui said he came upon Chaudry and another friend. They didn't know where Mohummad was and realized his cellphone was still in Siddiqui's car.
They went back to the parking lot and were soon met by police. After giving a statement to police. Siddiqui said he spoke with some girls (Chaudry's then-girlfriend and her sisters) who knew the Hamilton teens involved in the fight. He gathered pictures from social media identifying the pair now on trial and sent them to police. His only motivation was finding his friend, he said.
The trial continues Friday.
Nicole O'Reilly is a crime and justice reporter at The Spectator. noreilly@thespec.com