Halifax Regional Police have released the name of a 16-year-old boy whose death on Monday was deemed a homicide.
They issued a statement Tuesday saying Ahmad Maher Al Marrach was found badly injured in a parking lot next to the Halifax Shopping Centre on Mumford Road around 5 p.m. He died later in hospital.
“At this time, investigators do not believe this was a random incident,” the statement says.
About 20 minutes after the victim was found, two youths were arrested aboard a Halifax Transit bus near North Street. But police say they were released from custody without charges on Monday.
Police have yet to say how the victim died, though the Nova Scotia Medical Examiner Service conducted an autopsy and confirmed the manner of death to be homicide.
The police statement says investigators are aware of information and videos circulating on social media about the boy’s death.
“We would caution anyone from spreading misinformation or these images for the integrity of the investigation and more importantly out of respect for the young man’s family,” the statement says.
Investigators are asking anyone with information about what happened or video from the area to contact police.