Fourth youth convicted in April 2024 fatal stabbing of Halifax teen during group assault in mall parkade

Article contentThe judge noted that the entire incident in the parkade lasted less than two and a half minutes.Article content“(I) appreciate that things unfolded quickly, that there was a cascading chain of events and things happened that (he) did not plan or intend,” Buckle said.Article content“However, (he) put the plan in motion, he contributed to the group assault and contributed to the eventual escalation in violence and heightened risk when he took out his knife and told … his friends to take out theirs.Article content“When he did that, he may not have intended to escalate the violence and the risk, but it did, and it was reasonably foreseeable.”Article contentShe said it should have been foreseeable from the start of the attack that the group’s conduct would likely put Ahmad at risk of non-trivial bodily harm, “even without the use of knives.”Article content“The plan included a group assault that (the accused) acknowledged involved three people punching or kicking Mr. Al Marrach,” Buckle said.Article contentArticle content“The actions included forceful punches and kicks … to Mr. Al Marrach’s head and body. They alone exposed Mr. Al Marrach to a risk of bodily harm, and a reasonable person would have foreseen that.”Article content Defence lawyers Jordan Richard, left, and Anna Mancini leave Halifax youth court Tuesday after a judge found their client, a 17-year-old Dartmouth boy, guilty of manslaughter for his role in a group assault that resulted in the fatal stabbing of Ahmad Maher Al Marrach in April 2024. Photo by Steve BruceArticle contentAccording to text messages entered into evidence, the Dartmouth boy agreed to meet Ahmad in the mall parkade for a one-on-one fight over a girl they both had been dating.Article contentThe accused showed up with two male friends and a girl, who recorded video of much of the altercation on her cellphone. The incident was also captured on surveillance video.Article contentAs planned, the other two boys jumped into the fight within seconds of it starting. After being punched and kicked by the trio for about 55 seconds, Ahmad got back on his feet.Article contentThe accused testified he thought the fight was over at that point because he and Ahmad had resolved their beef.Article content“Are you done?” he can be heard yelling at Ahmad. “Walk away now.”Article contentArticle contentBut the altercation continued. One of the accused’s companions demanded Ahmad hand over his sneakers. A few moments later, the Lower Sackville boy began fighting with Ahmad.Article contentAhmad quickly placed the Lower Sackville boy in a headlock. That prompted the girl to shout, “get the f— off my man.” She pushed the pair to the ground and kicked Ahmad in the head multiple times.Article contentAfter several of Ahmad’s friends arrived in the parkade, the accused said he removed a knife he always carried in his backpack for protection and held it at his side.Article contentHe said he moved toward the fight and used one of his feet to try to push Ahmad away from his friend.Article contentAhmad got up and went toward his friends, so the accused said he began putting his knife away.Article content“It seems like it’s all ended again,” he said of the altercation. “I’m looking away from everyone, my back turned, and I see a bit of commotion out of the side of my eye.”