When Junaid Butt snapped a photo of his friend and fellow cricket team member last fall, he had no idea it would be the one Shakeel Ashraf would be remembered by when he would be shot dead a year later.
Now it’s that very photo — of Ashraf smiling on the field, the sun shining on his face — making the rounds in social media tributes after the beloved auto body shop owner and father of two young girls was killed in an apparent shooting rampage west of Toronto on Monday.
“It’s not something you would even imagine happening,” Butt told CBC Toronto in the hours following Ashraf’s death.
The rampage, which also took the life of 48-year-old Toronto police officer Const. Andrew Hong, left three others hurt and ended with the suspect dead after police tracked him down at a cemetery in Hamilton, Ont.
Ashraf, who was 39, according to his family, was the well-known and well-loved owner of MK Auto Repairs in Milton, where flowers could be seen laid outside following the shooting.
Suspect briefly employed at auto shop: victim’s brother
In a news release Tuesday, police said they were called to the shop around 2:50 p.m. Monday. Ashraf died at the scene, they said, while two other victims were taken to hospital. One of the injured people is in critical condition, the other is listed in serious condition, and they are not being identified at this time, the release said.
According to Ashraf’s brother Shahid Mahmoud, the two were employees of the auto body shop.
Mahmoud also said the suspected shooter, 30-year-old Shawn Petry, had been briefly employed at MK Auto Repairs last year. Petry worked at the shop for a few days before leaving, said Mahmoud, but it’s unclear under what circumstances he left.
Calling him a “lovely guy” and “very hard worker,” Butt recalled Ashraf always making jokes with customers and making everyone around him feel welcome.
The day that Butt took Ashraf’s photo was the day their cricket team won a championship, he said. After the group photo, Butt told each team member to pose with the cup for an individual photo.
Ashraf was thrilled at how the picture came out, he recalled.
“It was a beautiful day,” said Butt. Now, that team is “heartbroken” from the loss of their teammate.
In the moments after he heard Ashraf had been shot, Butt says he called the shop to confirm. Fifteen minutes later, he says, he learned Ashraf had been killed.
“It’s frightening,” said Butt. “It definitely scares you pretty deep.”
‘The family is destroyed’
Arslan Hanif described his second-cousin, Ashraf, as happy-go-lucky, full of life and “a gem of a person,” who cared deeply about his community and donated his time and money to various charities.
Ashraf started out as a mechanic and came to own two body shops over the years. On the day of the shooting, Hanif said Ashraf was out buying lunch for his employees before he arrived back at the shop and was shot.
“The family is destroyed,” he said of Ashraf’s brother, three sisters, father, and daughters and wife.
“These young girls are going to grow up without a father.”
In a statement online, the Islamic Community Centre of Milton said, “Today we lost a brave son of the community from this earthly plane.”
The statement called on the community to bear Ashraf’s loss with patience and to avoid speculations on the motive until more details emerge.
“Please keep the families in your duas (prayers),” it said.
