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Calgary's Pakistani community rallies around refugee left in critical condition after vicious attack

Dan McGarvey | CBC News | Posted: July 6, 2018 12:25 PM | Last Updated: July 6, 2018

Arshad Sohail showing no signs of improving since Monday's attack, say friends

Image | Arshad Sohail

Caption: Arshad Sohail has been in Calgary for two years, coming here as a refugee. He was involved in an argument outside a strip mall which resulted in him receiving critical injuries. He is currently in intensive care in hospital. (Submitted by Abid Khan)

Friends of a man left in intensive care after being attacked in the city's northeast this week say his condition is not improving and he may not survive.
Arshad Sohail, 35, came to Calgary two years ago as a refugee from Pakistan.
He was involved in a confrontation outside Mike's Family Billiards in the 2000 block of 32nd Avenue N.E. in the early hours of Monday morning, leaving him critically injured.
"He is a good friend, a really good guy. It's terrible what happened to him. We're sad and we're just praying for him right now," said Atif Ali, who has been making trips to and from the Foothills hospital intensive care unit all week.

Image | Atif Ali

Caption: Sohail’s friend Atif Ali says fundraising is about helping Sohail’s family, as he was the main provider for them, sending money back home to Pakistan. Ali says his condition isn’t improving and he is waiting for a miracle. (Dan McGarvey/CBC)

"There's no improvements at all. The doctors are basically saying the chances are five per cent, someone said 10 per cent. One of the nurses told me the chances for him to survive is one in a million, basically," said Ali.
"We're just waiting for a miracle I would say," Ali added. "He's a good friend, kind of a family to me."
Ali says Sohail has a wife, daughter and two sons back in Pakistan, as well as a younger brother. He had been working as an Uber driver and fast food delivery driver in Calgary.
"He is basically the only person who is supporting the whole family right now," said Ali.
The Pakistani and Pashtun communities in Calgary are raising money to help the family, including setting up a GoFundMe page for people to make donations.

Image | Gul Khan

Caption: Gul Khan, president of the Calgary Pashtun Association, says it’s been devastating for the city’s Pakistani community and says Sohail was in the wrong place at the wrong time. (Dan McGarvey/CBC)

"It's a very stressful and devastating situation for all of us here in Calgary. This was a young guy who went to the wrong place at the wrong time and it's a very, very sad moment for all of us," said Gul Khan, president of the Calgary Pashtun Association.
"Our goal is to raise up to $25,000. So far we we got, in 24 hours, about $5,000," said Khan.
"All the Pakistanis, even from B.C. and Edmonton and other parts of Canada, are sending us messages and we are thankful to everybody for their support," said Khan.
Khan says they want to help the family travel to Calgary from Pakistan and cover any funeral costs, if needed.

Image | Mikey’s billiards

Caption: The crime scene following the attack, which took place at around 1 a.m. on Monday morning at this strip mall in northeast Calgary. (CBC)

Calgary police have identified two suspects involved in the assault.
One of them, Kelsey Larry Houle, 21, was arrested the next day. He is charged with aggravated and common assault.
A second man, Daniel Deandre Sparks, 31, is still wanted by police. He is described as black with a medium build, about six feet tall and weighing about 200 pounds.
Investigators believe he has recently changed his appearance by adding shoulder-length dreadlock extensions to his hair.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call police or contact Crime Stoppers(external link).

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