'It was just a regular Thursday': Family of Jal Acor Jal pleading for answers in teen's homicide

The family of 16-year-old Jal Acor Jal are in disbelief after his death on Thursday, which Calgary police are investigating as a homicide.

"We're in shock...The family is traumatized and very sad," said Akeir Kuol, Jal's aunt. 

"We're still trying to understand and to allow the situation to sink in."

Jal was last seen by his grandmother, who he lived with in Dalhousie, around 6:30 p.m. on Thursday evening, said Kuol. 

Kuol added that Jal asked his grandmother what she was cooking for dinner before telling her he would be back by 8:30 p.m., as he had school the next day. 

"It was just a regular Thursday," said Kuol. 

Investigators said that first responders were dispatched to a green space behind the 100 block of Arbour Meadows Close N.W., on Thursday evening, where an injured male was reportedly found.

He was dead upon arrival, police said. 

Because Jal had a small circle of friends, Kuol said that their idea of what may have happened to him is limited.

"He spent a lot of his time training, getting better at basketball and football," said Kuol. 

"He was really busy with the career he saw himself doing in the future, so he wasn't out much, he was mostly at home."

The family are asking those in the Arbour Lake community to contact police with any information they may have, and to send in dash camera and doorbell camera footage that could help piece together Jal's last moments.

"I'm pleading for anybody who knows anything that can help us find [the person] who is responsible for taking the life of Jal...Do us a favour by just connecting with the police," said Joseph Jal, Jal's uncle. 

"It will help [them] to bring justice and that's what will bring us closure as a family." 

A talented athlete

Jal was in Grade 10 at St. Francis High School where he played on both the basketball and football teams. His aunt and uncle described him as a bright and vibrant teenager, who was hoping to move to the United States to pursue basketball after graduating. 

Kuol said that in addition to sports, Jal loved fashion. 

"We surround the St. Francis High School community and impacted family and friends with our hearts, thoughts and prayers," the Calgary Cowboys minor football league wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday. 

Gar Gar knew Jal since he was a child through his work with youth in Calgary's South Sudanese community. 

"I think the first thing that comes to mind is [that Jal] was just a gentle kid," said Gar. 

He noted that Jal called the older men in the community 'uncle', a term of endearment that was indicative of his respectful character. 

"The most devastating thing in this case is [a kid] at 16 years old to be found in this way, in this position," said Gar. 

He said that Jal's death has left many in the community searching for answers. 

"We would like to know more about it, is it somebody that knew him, is it a random attack? Is it intentional?"

Community in shock

Gar said that since the pandemic began he's noticed some youth growing increasingly disconnected from their communities without organized sport. 

It's a large part of the reason he's been ramping up efforts as the executive director of Forest Lawn's youth empowerment and skills centre to get youth back out playing sports together. 

"We were scared, especially for the last two years, [seeing] how some kids fall through the cracks," said Gar.

Kuol said that what happened to Jal has put many parents in the South Sudanese community on edge. 

"Death has become almost something that's normal and it shouldn't be like that," said Kuol. 

"It takes a community to raise a child, and it also takes a community to save a community."

Both Gar and Kuol said nothing in Jal's life seemed out of the ordinary at the time of his death. Kuol noted that she did not think he was a troubled kid, or that he had fallen in with the wrong crowd. 

Kuol said that when the police called her on Thursday evening with the news of Jal's death, she had a hard time believing them. 

"[We thought] maybe they got the wrong kid," said Kuol. 

"It never crossed our mind, not even for a second, that it would be Jal. All we saw was his future."